runner united (we talk almost as fast as we run)

[drivingmisscrazy]

a thread for runners to chat, debate, share tips, triumphs (and the occasional disaster!) - new runners particularly welcome, the only thing that's required is enthusiasm (and a pair of running shoes)

29/05/11 - Stirling R4L: squix
29/05/11 - Plymouth Half Marathon: sungirltan
30/05/11 - BUPA 10K: MoshiMoshi
01/06/11 - BHF Canary Wharf 10K jog: june2009
05/06/11 - Tilty Hilly 5(mile): bonkers20
05/06/11 - RFL 10k: LaLa
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
12/06/11 - The Heroes half marathon - Futurity
19/06/11 - Dash for Dads - Pawsnclaws
19/06/11 - Half Ironman UK 70.3 - Twink, MoshiMoshi
25/06/11 - Lewa half marathon Kenya - Masterandmargaritas
26/06/11 - Stortford 10 miles - thecoo
26/06/11 - Colworth half marathon - cestlavie
06/07/11- Yately 10k (not actually booked yet): DebiTheScot
10/07/11 - RFL 5K, Kingston & Kempton Park: Wheelybug
10/07/11 - Felsted 10K: bonkers20
16/07/11 - Phoenix park 5 miler - drivingmisscrazy
17/07/11 - RFL St Albans - Pawsnclaws
17/07/11 - Dundee Half marathon - TheChewyToffeeMum
17/07/11- Chichester (Sprint) Triathlon: DebiTheScot
20/08/11 - Frank Duffy 10 mile, Dublin - drivingmisscrazy
03/09/11 - Dingle Half-Marathon - drivingmisscrazy
11/09/11 - Bristol Half- Marathon - thetasigmamum
18/09/11 - GNR: Hamster, Run for fun, popsycal, LaLa
23/09/11 - Notting Half Marathon: cestlavie
25/09/11 - Edinburgh Urbanathlon: backwardpossom
25/09/11 - Windsor Half Marathon: Doyouthinktheysaurus
02/10/11 - Standalone 10K: Futurity
02/10/11 - Bradford Half Marathon - MrsWednesday
02/10/11 - Baxter's River Ness 10k - backwardpossom
16/10/11 - Abingdon Marathon: MoshiMoshi
30/10/11 - Great South Run: Wheely, squix
19/02/12 - Brighton Half marathon - Wheely

keep talking about 6 min miles and ill have to hide this thread!

ive decided not to run again until i get new shoes and gait assessed next week, tried tonight on treadmill but just cant run on treadmill....gah! did do lots of cycling and cross training to make amends....

have had a reply from running club though and im going to join next weds! i will have to go get shiny new shoes on tuesday then....good excuse!

Plenty of time peach - it might as well be fun while it's not so important!

My DS too sciencebint! The guard is part of the bed frame though and I probably won't put him into a proper bed until DD is ready for the bed with the guard. He sleeps fine at my ma's on a fold out bed though! And DS was so good, he wouldn't (and still won't) get out of bed until we come for him in the morning. DD on the other hand is going to cause chaos!!

On the sports bra subject, I have recently bought new ones but I've not much to put into them as a result of breast feeding. They were ample to begin with but now...sigh.

Bed is calling. Night all!

I am quite enjoying the Hal Higdon schedule - at the moment it seems like strangely little running

Peach we have the same bed issue as you; DD still in her cot (she is titchy) and concerned that she would just get up all the time if in a bed. There'll be toddler bed on holiday in a week or so (what does that mean? just a small bed?) so we'll see how that goes. She also needs to be in a bed by the time DD2 arrives. How old is your DD? Mine is 2 and 5 months.

I have had my sports bras for quite a while , but I have about 5 and currently they all fit and none of them chafe. I did have problems with one of them a while back. I might buy a couple of new ones soon.

Shoes I change every 500-600 miles - they've usually got holes in them by then anyway. I never know what to do with the old ones- there's only so many pairs of gardening shoes you need.

I got rid of the sports bras I bought during pregnancy and bf recently. To be fair, I had been using them when I had been doing low impact stuff as I was aware they were not supportive as they should be for running as they were too big. At my biggest when bf I went up to a mighty 34C and I was so proud I had a great couple of months about the 5/6 months stage when I had lost all the baby weight (and more - DD was a guzzler) and got my flat tummy back - and actually had boobs as well!! Sadly when I stopped at 8 months they disappeared.....

How far through pregnancy did you all run to? (Sorry C'est!) I was looking at races the other day and remembering ones in the past. I did the Lincoln 10K at 6 months pregnant with dd and had to stop for a pee halfway round in a pub! Managed 1 hr 4 mins inc the pee stop. Not exactly a PB, but enjoyed it.

driving I've had a binbag full of old trainers siting in the hallway for the past two weks.
There's a shoe recylcing centre at the local school so I'm planning on going there soon. has to be before saturday as we're having a party for my daughter's second birthday. (she also sleeps in a cot still).

saw my trainer this am and he reckons the running club has been cancelled and that all they were doing was running around the complex (no fartlek, tempo or intervals) with whoever was on shift at the time. Lame, that's probably why it wasn't popular!

Does the weather stop you from running? I know if it's raining I usually don't even consider going out to run for fear of catching a cold or something.
What do you do?

notyummy I actually stopped running from when we started trying for a baby because my trainer who was pregnant at the time had told me that she would prefer if I stopped. (probably for insurance...)
I was really paranoid and with no guidance when I got pregnant and stopped training, then I then had to stop all training completely at 20 weeks because of SPD.
I'm really hoping the next baby will let me exercise throughout as without it I was completely lost with nutrition etc and put on 5 stones...

driving is it this one you are following?:

www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/inter.htm

yes, it is. What do you think of it? am also looking at this one - I'd do the 'long' version as I prefer long runs to sprints and tempos (well, all things are relative - my 'sprint' is most people's easy pace )

I've never run when pregnant. I don't think I could have bent over to do my laces up without hurling. Then when the MS stopped I just felt too lumbersome (is that a word?) and too mean to purchase new running kit. I didn't even get very big. Swimming was my thing when pregnant. When non-pregnant I loathe swimming. I guess the buoyancy aid helped!

I like the look at that Hal Higdon one..I could see myself doing that one. That other one has a lot more weekly mileage ( and the longer runs go further which is good) but it makes my head hurt reading it! Both seem to show that 4 or 5 runs a week is what is needed.

Thanks for the links driving and futurity
i've just sent a schedule toy trainer and he's going to helpe structure my week better but i don't think there is anyway i can fit in 4 or 5 runs in a week.
Am I doomed?

Hi June (loved your comment about sports day by the way! can imagine turning up there with sports gels, garmin and isotonic drinks and asking if we can do a 10K instead of a sack race...).

I only get out 3 - 4 times per week, almost always just 3. Realistically, it probably does cap your performance a bit as most training schedules, especially intermediate ones which always are built around 5 days a week. With kids and work there's just no way I can fit that it.

On the other hand though I think it also comes down to how you use the sessions you have available, the key (for me) being not to have any 'junk mile' sessions, i.e. just ambling along for a few miles. FWIW my three sessions are split into one tempo run, one intervals session and one long (theoretically) slow run so each one serves a purpose. That way I hopefully get as much benefit as possible.

Hope that helps!

GGGRRR! Typed long post which was zapped and disappeared. Those links look good and I would second what cestlavie says about keeping those key sessions. June - if you can't do all of them it is not vitally important as long as the key tempo, long and interval runs are there. The Hal Higdon one is very simple to understand and as a previous editor of Runners' World I would think his suggestion is very doable for those of us with families and jobs to juggle.

Dinner last night was lovely although there was a lady in a SEE THROUGH netting dress wearing a thong which I thought totally inappropriate for a restaurant and given her age. It put me off my meal. I must be getting old.

I did 10 miles today as my MLR on the G Trainer. Legs and glutes a bit sore from yesterday's run which turned into a progression run instead of the 9 miles with 4@HM pace. When I got on the treadmill the thought of doing 4 miles at HM pace seemed a bit too much given my recent lay off through injury. So the progression run seemed a good compromise but toasted my legs a bit for today. But that is part of the plan, to have a hard day followed by a medium hard effort where I have to push on with tired legs. Tomorrow is a recovery run day so I may try going to Bootcamp early on if the weather is not too unsociable.

Happy running all.

Thanks for your input cestlavie and moshimoshi. I will look into these programs further.
I train 6 or 7 hours a week so I do have that time but it's just that I do weight lifting and cardio exercises, boxing etc. I'm sure I could swap a couple of spinning classes for runs instead or something like that for the three months leading up to the half marathon.

I need to look up all the types of runs mentioned here, the running jargon, so I know exactly what is meant. I think I need to write a list down and put it on a blog!

moshi I went to a restaurant where this girl was wearing a thong and low rise jeans, we could see most of her butt it was gross, really put me off too. I wanted to ask the waiter if he could possibly put a cardigan on her chair or something to hide it. I don't think we're getting old, it was indecent exposure! :D

my Good For Age Official Entry Form for VLM 2012 arrived today!

Before I forget, someone (futurity I think) was mentioning the other day about finding something to eat/drink on a long run. I think you said you felt sick with lucosade and that you might try gels. I feel sick on energy drinks too (have it half strength when doing cycle & run together) and the gels were worse. I do like the tablets though. I presume they're not as high calorie as gels but they didn't make me feel sick.
(meant to write that the other day but forgot)

I did my 1st 'proper' training run today. I was very good & left work early to run as it was dry & forecast said more rain this eve (means I have marking exam papers to look forward to this eve, yippee)
I did 2 miles then 8x 60 sec 'sprints' with 90 sec walk/jog recovery. Then 1.5 miles home. 5.5 miles altogether which is longest I've run since 10k race in Nov.

After studying my shoes I've decided they've got a few miles in them yet, they look fine although not totally sure how I know when they're done.

I wrote a huge long post and then lost my connection

Moshi, . Can please just not run quite so fast as I feel rather inadequate?

Debi, when my knee starts to twinge then I normally change my trainers and it feels better. Not very scientific I know but it works for me.

We were at a work function this afternoon and a lot of my colleagues are doing the HM so there was a lot of chat about times and strategies and camping admin. And nerves . None of them wear an M&S bra though.

I'm with you on the sun cream front, I am terrible at letting it slip even though I put it on the children daily without fail. You can easily tell where my running shorts stop.

It's lovely to hear your stories about teeny tinies moving from small into big beds, I had forgotten all about those joys. When ever we went away we would either take a blow up small toddler bed or put the mattress on the floor. Whatever we did they always ended up on the floor at the other side of the room, still fast asleep.

my best sport's bra is from asda!

I'm only going to sign up for an HM if it's doable on 3 sessions a week. Two 45ish min during the week and a longer one building up the miles at the weekend.

Its hard the 'going into a bed thing'. When we put DD1 into a bed at just 2, she stayed there and slept the same as she'd always slept. In fact, even now she doesn't think she's allowed out of bed without asking first. Which actually can be quite irritating. DD2 on the other hand went into a bed at just under 2 because she had begun learning to climb out but has been a nightmare. We have a stair gate on her bedroom door so she can't escape entirely. She's 2 years and 3 months now so probably been in a bed almost 4 months and still needs keeping in bed when going to sleep. BUt then she's generally a terrible sleeper.

5 miles in the gym today, a bit of a tempo run. Might miss my friday night 5K I'd been building in just to give my twinges a bit of a rest and then longer run on sunday. Probably with dh again as we're staying at MILs and probably hilly. Eeek.

I like the look of the Hal Higdon half plan - I have a while to go until my half but would be able to pick it up a fair way through now, so by the time I've done GSR I'll just have to pick up the last bits.

Well I've only run HM distance twice, but both times were under 1hr50 (1hr 44 PB). I did that on 3 runs a week max because DH is away so much that any more just isn't possible. I do high intensity circuits/interval training at home, and I think that makes a big difference to my strength and endurance. Also resets the pain threshold!

debi - Not that i have any experience but I definitely think it is doable on 3 sessions a week. In fact, I think one of the newbies here did it on 2-3. I run mostly 3 sessions a week - a 10K (with speed intervals) and a 5 mile (tempo ish) and then a longer run at weekends which I could see would get me to the distance. Although having said that, I don't want to do a half until I can guarantee doing 4 sessions but that's more because I want the confidence of having trained as much as possible but that's also because I will ahve the luxury of time to do 4 sessions as dd2 will be in pre-school.

yes, I suspect that anyone who has already run a half could probably start around the middle of that plan. I've just been tootling along the last few weeks - but doing some intervals and tempos, but very little in the way of long runs. Must get back to some discipline next week - but then away, so have factored a week off into the training. But I feel a bit strange not having run my customary 40+ k per week. Will get there more or less this week. But I do think I need more recovery time.

just did first run after Sunday at running club...was planning to take it easy but no..we did a speedy (for me) 5 miles! Oh well...I survived and we have all agreed to do another half in October so gives me something to aim towards. They are all so fast though..I feel like a snail compared to them!

hello

moshi glad you had a good night, other patron outfit sounds gross, was the companion well into middle age with leathery skin

and tongs, although obviously a personal choice always seems to be a highway for germs

anyway running I agree the time being scarce means using it wisely, given the delays and interferences my little programme is still to be completed (week 10 of13) but I have lately been trying to incorporate some speed burst etc, after that will need to pick a plan and at least a route with some sort of hill.
have bookmarked all the ones here for future perusal

little ones moving beds we took the very lazy very easy option, partly because we could and suited us, dd mostly slept in out bed or bedside cotbed, she was there until she was 3 then moved into her bedroom fuss free.

cestlavie about little ones running, dd would complain about the legs hurting although she is used to walking and cycling rather a lot, we try to make it fun as much as possible, but as for everybody else the atmosphere of a race spurs you on.
and it is touching the faith they have in our godlike abilities, I say enjoy while it lasts

debbie I'm doing just that. If it's not too expensive can you sign up for it just to see how you fare? The 10k I just did spurred me on (well that and my very convincing friend who had signed up for it already).
I realise that a half is a lot more challenging and the training is serious, my aim is primarily to finish it...
Like notyummy I do a lot of other training on the side and I am really hoping that it helps!