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 to all of you finishers. You all achieved something amazing and should be bloody proud of yourself.

I must admit to getting carried away with the romance of it all when watching it yesterday and was considering the ballot. Then I cam back down to earth listening to all your reports!

Just read Sophie Raworths blog about her collapse..sounds very scary:

www.realbuzz.com/blogs/u/Sophie_Raworth/sophie-raworth-s-blog/

Nell McAndrew is amazing..apparently she could of started with the elite athletes but chose not to!

paws I think you speak alot of sense about both the heat and the lack of hills. I too enjoy the variety that hills bring and I did most of my training on undulating terrain whcih I thought would strenghen my legs but with hindsight I'm not sure I ws prepared for the monotony of flatness IYSWIM

I felt very emotional reading that about Sophie Raworth futurity how scary for her!! Just brings home how tough conditions were yesterday.

Well done fascicle and pass, you did amazingly. Sorry you're both feeling down but I'm guessing that's normal after such a build up.

Interesting reading about the event though, thanks for sharing your experiences (fas - your brother running alongside you was brill !) - I agree with the others that it makes you doubt entering but...

I hope you're all feeling better tomorrow. You all did us proud !!

well, I don't know if it's inspiration from our trusty marathoners, or my new shoes, or simply getting rid of my junk miles, but I just ran a 5k in just over 26 minutes! and it didn't even feel particularly hard...I clearly run better on a more or less empty stomach (cup of tea and piece of chocolate before heading out!). On that basis, the macmillan calculator reckons I can do a half marathon in 2:02!! I'd be delighted with a time like that, and my training paces do more or less fit with what he recommends...time will tell

sorry about all the exclamation marks - a bit excited (haven't actually done a short run like that for a good while)

Post marathon blues have hit, huh? :( Hope you both feel happier about it soon, fascicle and pass. Just to finish makes you both heroes in my eyes! x

I just watched a clip of the policeman, David Rathband, who was blinded by Raoul Moat here and I'm weeping - absolutely amazing man, so inspirational.

And Nell McAndrew is amazing, too. So impressed with her!

You have all done so amazingly well, given so much of your time, energy and focus to the marathon, it's not surprising you are feeling flat today. Hopefully tomorrow you'll be feeling suitably proud and impressed by what you've achieved.

I want to be Nell McAndrew - she looked more glamorous at the end of 26 miles than I've ever done in my life.

I don't want to put anyone off entering the ballot. Overall I had an amazing day, real highs and lows but I am very glad I did it!

I realised as I was plodding round that I am actually very time oriented, I really wanted to get a good time (for me) and didn't want anything to get in the way of that. The idea that people were standing queueing for the loo with the clock ticking seemed ridiculous to me

I watched the highlights on the iplayer last night and felt very emotional. Just bought home to me what I had been a part of!

I am glad I did it.....I would urge anyone else to give it a go at least once if they get the opportunity but to focus on having a fun long training run rather than trying to get a PB IYSWIM.

MrsWed I hope your 20 miler goes well for you this weekend.

Driving well done on your 5k time, that's fast!

I am on a course today. No idea how I am going to get on sitting in the same position for hours. I seem to be better if I keep on moving

Doyou that's good to hear. I guess it's all a bit emotional afterwards anyway (which is probably why they've moved the ballot to 26 April instead of straight afterwards). Perhaps I'll just enter the ballot and let fate decide for me whether I get in or not.

Driving you're going to have to resign from the slow runners club now - well done for running such a speedy 5k!

DrNorth I'm also a big Nell fan - she's stunning but seems to be quite nice and down to earth with it. I used to do an exercise video of hers a few years ago, when I was quite fit, and it was HARD, so I guess she must be in great shape.

I have some soreness in my leg (above my achilles but lower than my calf) since my long run on Sunday. It was hurting as I went round but didn't really hinder me, so I just carried on. Yesterday I rested but it still feels a bit tight today. Got an easy run this evening so will see how it is after that... Really don't want to get injured at this point!!!

Congrats on your speedy 5k drivingmisscrazy. One of my next missions is to try a Parkrun. There's something very appealing and liberating about running fast over shorter distances.

I second doyouthink's advice on entering the ballot for London. The event is definitely an experience worth having! I am one of those funny people who derives real value and enjoyment from something after the event (but not necessarily during it!). Let's just say I would like to have another go next year, probably with a golden bond place if I am able to get one (where is the mad person emoticon?).

Sorry about your sore leg, thecoo. I am regretting not having had a cold bath on Sunday evening. They really seemed to make a difference after my long runs. Hope you are ok for your run today.

it's ok everyone, back to normal today! 12.5k at about 6.33min/k; but that's pretty much the target pace for easy, longer runs. And that run includes 3 long hills

I did my first Parkrun on Saturday, Fascicle. 5k in 27.31, which I was very pleased with, because I was expecting 29ish. It's the first racey thing I've done, and I was amazed at the surge of adrenaline I felt as we started off. I was beaten by a man of about 80, a 6 year old kid, and a woman with an arse the size of Wales, but I didn't care much.

Congrats to all the marathon runners. I can only marvel at your inner toughness.

butterbur great time! what is Parkrun?

A timed, measured 5k. There are runs all over the country. look here to find one near you. They are free too, so a wonderful thing. There were about 260 runners at the one I did.

that's very cool - alas, I don't live in the UK (or Denmark or Australia) :(

LOL Butterbur and well done, that's a good time

I know that feeling well....Watching people steam past you while you are struggling to breath and keep your legs moving

I never get to do a Parkrun as I have to do my Long run Saturday, due to working Sunday night shift. I think they are a great way of testing yourself and pushing yourself harder than possibly you would alone.

I have a blister under my big toe nail to add to the hideous blisters on the next 2 toes along I won't be doing any foot modelling this summer

Hope the other marathoners are recovering ok. I am moving a bit more comfortably and am already itching to get out running again. The mind is willing but not the body! My thighs still struggle with stairs and my knee still tightens if I sit with my legs bent and can get a bit painful. Better than yesterday by far though!

Oh and apparently I was on the TV My sister thought she spotted me watching the live coverage on Sunday and my mum watched today and confirmed it was me, plodding just past Tower Bridge. At least I was still fairly perky at that point

I'd love to do a parkrun, but I just looked at the website and we seem to be in a bit of a blackhole . Would have to go all the way up to Milton Keynes or into Enfield. I may drag my friend to the Enfield one as she lives fairly close to there - would be really useful to know my 5k time now I'm old and slow .

I am finally sat at the Mac (why is it not a PC but a "Mac", is it like the way I hoover and not vacuum things I wonder?) and pondering a race report but there isn't much to say to be honest. (Look away now as you know it will prove longer than that first sentence suggests!)

I had a lovely night's sleep at my DH's boss's house on Shooter's HIll and wandered over to the Blue Start around 9am. It was much nicer than starting from home and trying to hand over care of 4 kids and a dog to my DH. I dropped my bag off and then ambled to Pen 5 wondering whether I could swing a switch to Pen 4 or better. Should have tried asking A Bloke but didn't think about that and asked A Bird instead who resolutely held firm about not letting me through. So I waited. Then the gun went off and it took a good few minutes to cross the start line.

The congestion was considerable and we did a sort of hokey kokey sort of running and stopping for a while before finding space to run but it wasn't anywhere near 8m/m let alone 7m20s. Determined not to panic or waste energy dodging, I eventually spotted the RW 8m/m Pacer ("fantastic! I've made up time!") before then grinding to a halt again as I hit the wall of runners following the RW 8m/m Pacer ("bugger! I can't run now!") I must confess to dodging a bit to get around the wall (but I did indicate as if on a bike to avoid tripping anyone up) and then got clear.

I tried very hard, in a non-stressy fashion so as not to waste nervous energy, to get into my stride and think I reached halfway in a reasonable time (Garmin said 1:39 or 1:40 I think) being just a few minutes down on my goal half time of 1:36 ("all is not lost!") But then it started to feel really hot, so I made a concerted effort to continue to take on water at each station and pour it on myself ("that's weird. Why isn't my Garmin registering my mile splits when I press the Lap button?") I must confess to then finding it hard to monitor my pace and think it went a bit pear-shaped around the 14-20 mile stage.

After I worked out that I was responsible for messing up my Garmin by sloshing water over myself ("Gosh, my socks feel squidgy!") around 16-18 miles, I thought I had better just focus on enjoying the run and keeping a mental focus on how I felt rather than where my pace was. Sometimes there is just too much information for a mum of 4 with placenta brain to think about. I realised that being a few minutes down at halfway and then losing touch with where I was had made it even more difficult for me to get near to 3:15 so decided to just feel how a marathon feels like and not turn into one of the many roadside casualties who were lolling around on the pavements being attended to by the St John's crew.

My BIL tapped me on the shoulder around the 22 mile mark and I thought it would be nice to run together but he egged me on so I must have caught him up and overtaken him (he was in Pen 3 at the Blue Start). So I plodded on taking in the scenery around the Embankment where I used to run during my lunchtimes in my previous incarnation as a City worker.

It was a lovely day but:

1. I did wish there weren't so many runners in my way
2. Those crowds are a bit noisy aren't they?
3. I would have liked a cooler day to see what it felt like to push it harder. I had a slight headache which I put down to the dehydration.

Anyhoo, I am fine and walking down stairs etc fine. My toenails are a bit looser. I guess it is not a bad thing that I am feeling good as I have my family to look after. My lovely DH greeted me at home with a banner across the pavement and the DCs all ran to greet me when I walked around the corner. I think he appreciates how busy I am now during the day and why I don't have anything exciting to report when he asks me what I have done all day.

Sorry for being so absent and late posting of report. No Garmin data as water rather messed it up! Good running going on here and great debating as ever. Go us!

Oh and the final chip time was 3h27m30s!

Moshi it's still a great report - really gives the flavour of the day. Any of you wanting to do a marathon in cooler conditions, but far away in time to train for might think about doing the Dublin marathon - it's the end of October and is usually cool and grey and damp :o

disclaimer: whilst I am happy to entertain a mn team i am not running a marathon

route and details here; it's fairly (but not entirely) flat. Hotels are dirt cheap at the moment due to pulverised economy :(

Great report Moshi, was wondering why you hadn't posted one. It sounds like you were incredibly pragmatic during the race which judging by the Sophie Raworth situation is not always easy to do when the adrenaline is pumping and the crowds are cheering.

Glad all the VLMers are recovering well (loose toenails sounds unpleasant).

Some v speedy running going on! I thought I'd done pretty well on my run home today but it was only just under 9 minute miles (I peaked at 5 m/m but only for two seconds when running down a hill).

Sore knee again now, but it can't be anything serious as I saw my physio yesterday and she said all my injuries had healed pretty well. Last big week of training before starting to taper so I suppose a few aches and pains are to be expected?

Great report Moshi...I love reading about all your personal experiences..it makes it all seem so real when reading about how your day started and picturing the scene rather than just hearing about running stats.

You all seem to have mentioned about people sat/slumped/passed out by the side...was it really that bad? Did it surprise you at the amount of people suffering?

ok, i just want to add my name tentatively? can i ? am I jinxing myself? I used to run a bit when younger, and have hopped in and out of it, but not seriously, nothing at all compared to everyone here.

But, I have started again, only baby steps, but for exactly as you said in the OP moshi about preserving a sense of ourselves. I get no time, and wanted to get fit, and running, well I get to listen to music and be on my own which I crave. I am not overweight, but I am unfit and muscle tone is crap. no longer have a body that just behaves without work!

So my plan is to run home from work every day. No more than that. 1pm 5 days a week, a 15 min run. and if I get time, a 30 min run at the weekends. Lets see what happens after that.

But. It is addictive. I have bee only 4 times, but on the first day I got to 10 mins and hurt, then just afterwards, I got a good song on and i reached a level where I could just keep going. i did not so as not to injure myself, but each time I have been I have just seen myself running and running, which I have never felt before. I am running 3 miles, so maybe the race for life can be done if I am not burnt out by June...

I hope it continues and that maybe I can actually join in here!