Runners united (come join us if you are addicted to running!)

[MoshiMoshi]

This is a continuation of the thread "Happy When We Are Running" for those of us who are committed to running in order to preserve a sense of ourselves and maintain a degree of sanity in our lives which are otherwise taken over by family and work-related matters.

All runners are welcome, experienced and newbies, if you are a keen runner. We promise to support you in your efforts and have a running (excuse the pun!) list of races (see below) which various of us have entered in order to provide advice and support along the way.

So what are you waiting for? Spring is here and there is no better time to enter those races you have been wondering about entering and lose those winter pounds, and all for free (well, as long as you have a decent pair of trainers suitable for your running gait ). Alternatively, if you don't want to race you can just join us to enjoy the racing vicariously and learn about training and what (not) to do along the way.

27/03/11 - Kingston Breakfast Run 8.2m wheely
02/04/11 - Miles for Missing People 10K: MoshiMoshi
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
30/05/11 - BUPA 10K: MoshiMoshi
08/06/11 - Claver Peak 5 miles: hatwoman
11/06/11 - Clumber Park R4L 10k Hamster
12/06/11 - Bath R4L 5k Dillinger
12/06/11 - Redcar half marathon - DrNortherner
25/06/11 - Lewa half marathon Kenya - Masterandmargaritas
10/07/11 - RFL 5K, Kingston & Kempton Park: Wheelybug
18/09/11 - GNR: Hamster, Run for fun, popsycal
23/09/11 - Notting Half Marathon: cestlavie

Well done paws for finishing in that heat - you must feel v proud of yourself. Give us the gory details once you've recovered a bit...

I haven't yet found a sports bra that works well on it's own (am 32DD) so I always wear two together. Even the old stretched ones can do their bit then and it seems to effectively stop all movement...

sfxmum that looks like a great mix - much more my type of music than the usual running suggestions!

Did just over 7 miles today as my long run and managed to keep to 11:15 minutes/mile pace, which is what I was supposed to do. The small amount of "speed" training seems to have made a difference already after just 2.5 weeks as before my long runs were at about 12-12.30 m/m and yet this felt really comfortable. May just be psychological but I'm happy either way :)

Have messaged you DrNo !

Great bra advice ! I have been thinking of going Shock Absorber but been wanting to get measured again before investing. Since I settled after stopping bf-ing 18 months ago, I have lost 2 stone but, at least at last measure, haven't changed size .

Look forward to hearing the gory details when you're rested and refreshed paws.

Well done paws! X

paws - well done! What an acheivement. I am in awe of all of you guys that manage a marathon. Here's to you. It was very warm up here in this bit of Scotland this morning and I did think it would be even warmer down south - well done again.

I wear two bras too thecoo, I always have done - either two sports bras or a sports bra and a cropped running top. My current favorite is a shock absorber which has an extra fastening half way up the back to make it a racer back. It like it but found it comes up a wee bit small, so I have gone up an extra back size.

sungirltan - hello! I have downloaded '101 running songs' - I find some of it is a bit cheesey, but I suppose it depends what you like. I go through phases of listening to music, I find I listen more in the winter when I want to take my mind off the rain.

I have really enjoyed my running this weekend - a 4 1/2 mile run quicker than my target 1/2 marathon pace then 13 1/2 miles at 10.8 min miles today in lovely weather. I really felt yesterday's run in my legs today at about 8 miles, though.

I notice up the thread that someone mentioned hills and I was wondering if any of you change your running style on hills? I tend to run more on the balls of my feet / toes going up hills but I suspect that is a bit of a cop out and I should just keep my normal style.

Well done, paws on an incredible effort of a hot day!

paws fantastic effort, well done :) Sorry it was so hot

paws - forgot to say how awful you got sunburnt! Did you record your splits? If you find time perhaps you could share them with us and give a race report which would enable us to learn from your experience? Also, more importantly, can you walk properly today or are you having to walk down stairs backwards?

Hello. I just found this thread. I have a real love/hate relationship with running, mainly because I'm doing the Great West Run (a half marathon) on 1 May and I'm worried sick about it.....not exactly sure why, because I've run 19-20K 4 times now in the last 5 weeks, so I know I can do the distance. Yet still I'm terrified. I haven't run the route, which probably has something to do with it (it goes right through Exeter city centre and is very trafficky(they stop cars on the day) so I don't feel it's safe to run on a normal day - I do all my running by the river Exe on dedicated running/cycling/footpaths.

I worry a lot about whether I have done enough training - my job involves lots of travel which can be disruptive, it can be difficult running outside in the winter in a strange place and I hate treadmills. Still, I've run 661.5K since December which should be enough, I hope.....But I'm still terrified, I feel sick every time I think about the race. :( My biggest fear, silly though it may be, is needing the loo while running. Or, after Saturday's long run, catching the sun!

I will be so glad when this race is over. I will never ever enter another - or, maybe I will but I won't get sponsors, I just feel such a weight of responsibility. It will be nice to just go back to regular 10K runs for fun and runkeeper stats, without having to worry about long runs or the consequence of missing a few while away.

Well done paws, what an amazing achievement on an incredibly hot day, I hope you feel very proud of yourself today

Peach I hope the next few weeks pass quickly for you. It is natural for you to feel anxious, just make sure you look after yourself and be kind to yourself.

I think that's how you are meant to run up hills squix, shift your weight forward a bit and run more on your forefoot. Lots of swinging arms too....that's how I run up them anyway

Welcome thetasigmamum, nerves before a race are normal. Try and keep reminding yourself of all the good training you have done and avoid thinking about the actual race if you can. That is what I'm trying to do anyway
Hopefully you will enjoy the race.

This thread does move quickly doesn't it! I think it may be because it's one of the few places you can talk about running without the person on the other end of the conversation having a slightly bored and pained expression on their face ("really, honey, the split on the second section was 7.45 m/m, that's just fascinating....")

Squix my running style on hills tends to be slow with the occasional whimper. Where I can, I try to shorten my strides to try and keep a little pace in there which I think means you tend to end up running on the balls of your feet more - which is, I think more ergonomically efficient anyway as you've got more forward (and presumably upward) momentum.

Welcome thetasigmamum. Gosh, you've done more than enough training for the half marathon, and certainly more than I've ever done for any of the half marathon's I've done! Practically speaking, given the distances you've been covering you'll easily do the distance on the day it'll just be a question of how fast you'll be.

As doyou says, everyone gets nerves before a race and worries they've not done enough training/ right sort of training etc. especially cos people here are parents with family and often work commitments. For example, I'm away with work then holiday next week so won't be running for 10 days (don't like to think about that too much...) One thing which I find helps with races is to research the course so you can visualise it - remember where drinks stations are, look for landmarks, map it on mapmyrun.com or walkjogrun.net so you can see where any hills are etc. Just makes you feel more prepared. I'm sure you'll love the race itself when you do it - looks like a big race so should have a fantastic and very supportive atmosphere!

Thank you cestlavie and doyou - that makes perfect sense

thetasigmamum - I think nerves are useful before an event - whether it's a race or giving a presentation or something else challenging. I think that nerves show that you care about what you are doing, they also drive me to make sure that I prepare (which it sounds like you are) and also gives me an extra bit of adrenalin to help me on my way. I'd second what cestlavie suggests about reaseraching and visualising the course. I've done a few races where I've not been able to run the route before and have found that helps. It sounds like it's fairly familiar teritory for you anyway even if you've not run it before.

What a lovely friendly thread! Thank you for your encouraging comments. I'm using my phone right now (on train into London for 3 days of conference and meetings) so it's difficult to scroll back and check names. Hope you don't think I am being rude!

The course is incredibly familiar. Except for the start and finish which are in the athletics stadium. Much of it is on our regular route to Sainsburys. So I drive it a lot! And the rest is in the city centre shopping area. I'm not sure whether familiarity helps though. The big hill - which scares me - is on the Sainsbury route and every time we drive there I see several people running which always does my head in! For they are better prepared than me. If also more foolhardy (I really don't believe it's a safe run with the traffic in full flow).

I do a lot of presenting with my job, and yes I always get very wound up about that too!

At least my 10K this morning was easy and uneventful. Small mercies!

A belated but very warm welcome to suntangirl (liking the name!) and thetasigamum! All abilities are welcome. The only condition of being on here is that you are devoted to running! We are all very positive and happy but recognise that we all have complicated lives with some sad moments and encourage sharing real life complications as well. If it helps keep you strong and positive in RL then so much the better! Oh and word of warning, cestlavie is a dad but he seems able to cope with wimmin's issues quite well.

thecoo - delighted you are reaping the rewards of intervals already!

Oops, I mean sungirltan. Still a good name.

Thanks moshi - I'm not sure how much of it is actual physical improvement, but I certainly feel better - perhaps it's just such a relief not to be completely out of breathe when I'm not doing speed training that it makes everything else feel easier...

Hope paws will be back to fill us in soon - keep sneaking a peek to see if she's posted more details!

I don't think I've welcomed sungirltan and thetasigmamum yet - it's good to have you both on the thread. I've learned loads in the short time I've been on here, and my enthusiasm seems to be growing enormously too!

thetasigmamum I think it's normal to feel like you do, but you sound very prepared and once you've run the race I'm sure you'll be all full of the joys of running again and desperate to enter your next one! I understand the nervesw as I've entered a race that I've since discovered isn't a friendly charity event with loads of walkers to bring up the rear, so I've been worrying that I'll be the last one. But I'm determined to enjoy myself anyway and am using the panic to motivate me to do some decent training...

cestlavie it is great to be able to let out all our running enthusiasm on people that understand! My DH runs but is sooooooooooooo completely disinterested in hearing about my training, and thinks I've made a mistake entering the race mentioned above (so encouraging ) - so this thread has been fantastic for me!

just sneeking in a quick catch up and post from work....

WELL DONE Paws - been said by so many already but the weather was insane!

Hi thetasigmamum - took me a couple of looks to read that name... and that's when I'm sober and at work rather than posting at midnight after a few ginger beers....

Angechica - I just got some sennheiser sport earphones with strange bar type bits that twist into place and they seem to stay in well whilst sat at my desk... might take them for a run tomorrow morning and test them out properly...

fitted in a 3 mile run this am before dropping kids off at childminders and heading for work.... for me a stteady run, but v slow by all of the rest of your standards ... but I am almost back to being able to run 5k in 30 mins ...

wheely and any others seeking new shock absorbers - if you have an outlet village or similar nearby, its worth checking out... there's a lingerie store in my local retail park that sells them for about 25% less than rrp - I only found it after paying £30 in Debenhams for my last one....

How do people go about running in the mornings? I have to be up at 6:30 most days anyway and tbh I'm not a morning person. Do you eat before you run (because I normally get a stitch if I run within an hour of eating) and if you don't, aren't there issues with low blood pressure/sugar levels?

hi penguin I don't usually run very early, and for short(ish) runs I go out on a couple of large mugs of tea. For longer ones I have a banana and/or a slice of toast about 30 mins beforehand and that seems to work ok

penguin, I don't really have a lot of choice about running times! I need to fit running in before work but to be honest I like running more when the world is a quieter place and also, especially in summer, before it gets too hot. I always have breakfast (toast, banana, water) before heading out and always run with Lucozade Sport which isn't short of sugar....

After a very successful running week last week, had a pretty poor start to this one. Did 12k with 4k warm up, 6k at 10k pace (or so I thought) and 2k warm down. Turns out my fast bit was only about 1kph faster than the warm up which I'd suspected cos even the warm up felt heavy and hard. Pretty hard work overall and not a great run from either a technical or fun perspective. Ho hum. Maybe another day's rest would have helped.

How're the VLM people feeling about next weekend? Hopefully you're all having a decent taper...

penguin - I prefer am runs but think a lot of it is to do with habit and have always fit in the morning run. Soon after I had my DCs mornings were definitely the better time of day, pelvic floor-wise . I am used to running on an empty stomach and need at least 3 hours after eating before running and feeling comfortable. If you need the fuel, I think eating well the night before helps (carby dinner with suppertime smack of bagel) and a gel in hand for morning runs of more than 10 miles just in case of bonking (cycling technical term for hitting the wall having run out of glycogen).

Starting to have anxiety dreams about VLM and dreamt I forgot to pick up a pace band at the Expo. Not a complete disaster but it felt horrible in my dream.

How are pass and doyouthink doing?

I'm an eater penguin, I can't possibly run without my two weetabix. In fact I will admit, I have a weetabix addiction. I swear it was the reason I did so badly in my last half marathon was that I was made to eat cornflakes at the hotel instead of weetabix.

Welcome thetasigamum, you sound plenty ready for your half.

Hills, hills, the bane of my life. There is no flat here Peachy I am totally hardcore But not quite Hatty or Twink hardcore just yet.

Either I am running up the blasted things or down them. Squix I have been experimenting with my hill running technique. I can either a) slow right down to slightly faster than walking pace and mentally put myself somewhere else and slowly get to the top or b) I get myself onto the balls of my feet and do some arm swinging. This makes me lift my legs higher and frankly gets the hill over and done with quicker. I am trying to keep up the latter which is quite tough when it's the last hill.

You could all manage my hills and the heat and the altitude, you could. Why not come out en masse and try it for a little running holiday? I could take you to this place and then we could all be as fast as Moshi.

I'm interested in the shock absorbers - I have zilch up top but need a bit of padding. My M&S bra can't cope with the hills so am happy to invest in a shock absorber, if they are padded...

Peachy I must have missed the scan post. I'm delighted that all is well.

I'm not an early morning runner penguin, I hate it! My normal time of running is mid morning after the ds's are dispatched to school which gives me time to digest breakfast. I run in the afternnon/evening aswell which I don't mind but before breakfast doesn't suit! I did it at 5.30am last week because of work and it was horrid! I didn't eat before but only did 6.5 miles so wasn't a problem.

Glad I'm not the only one having funny dreams Moshi. I appear to be in a state of constant anxiety at the moment despite constantly telling myself not to to think about it I have had dreams of being late for the start and getting lost during the race I'm now just trying to focus on all the preparation and forget about the actual running.

How are you feeling about it Moshi, raring to go?

LOL Masters nothing short of a rocket behind me would make me as fast as Moshi

It feels like so long since I did a proper long run, I miss it. My recent runs have been comparitively short and I don't feel able to get into my stride!

doyou - I saw the physio (£40!) and my ballet teacher (£55!) today and was told that my injuries seem much better and my flexibility and strength seems really good so I guess I am in good shape for Sunday which is reassuring given the troubles I have had. My asthma seems under control again and my cold pretty much gone. I am avoiding sick people and not having kids here on playdates either!

I have read we should not waste nervous energy on our race performance as the training has been done now but instead should be visualising the race and what we would do in the event certain things should happen eg getting a twinge in the calf or stitch etc. I used to do visualisation when I did some triathlons as so much faffing around is required and do find it really helpful so may try do a bit for Sunday.

Weather looking cooler already for the weekend. Phew!

Oh I posted a message earlier and it appears to have disappearedand nowdd2 doesn't want me to type 'no puter mummy'

I don't think I said much of substance (no change there) but welcome thetastigmamum - I got v nervious before my last race (8m) as those on here can testify. My previous race I'd retched all along the last 100m or so of the race and I was really worried about it happening again. IN this case, I think worrying about it hlped as it made me slow down a bit (although still went off too fast). It sounds like you are well prepared !!

cest - good tip about mapping an unknown course on the computer. The GSR will be a completely unknown route for me. The only bit of portsmouth I know is the HMS victory ! Mind you, not knowing can be a help - in the kingston run I knew exactly how much firther there was to go by the landmarks !!

Loving the idea of a trip to see you M&M. In fact, a single friend of mine is taking October off for travelling in your part of the world and I asked dh if I could have October off too. He said no.

penguin - I run at all sorts of times. I like running firt thing as its so quiet but have been having such bad nights lately I can't make myself get up in time. So, I tend to end up mid afternoon at weekends. In the mornings I have a banana before running which seems to be ok although the most I've run is 8.5 miles.

Thinking of all the VLM runners - moshi doyou and pass. Hope your week is going well !

Hope you;re doing ok paws and the sunburn isn't too bad.

My bro is still coming down from his high I think. He scraped in just under his 3.15 target which given the sun and the fact he had cramp at mile 22 he did extrememly well. But he's like that .