Runners united: I run, I do running, I am a runner

[DebiTheScot]

We've run out of room on the other thread so I hope you don't mind me starting the new one.
This thread is for runners to share running stories and chat about life in general too. Anyone with running shoes welcome!

Our latest race list is below. Feel free to add or remove races from it.

06/07/11- Yately 10k: 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
24/07/11 - Harrogate town centre 10k - DrNortherner
20/08/11 - Frank Duffy 10 mile, Dublin - drivingmisscrazy
03/09/11 - Dingle Half-Marathon - drivingmisscrazy
11/09/11 - Bristol Half- Marathon - thetasigmamum
11/09/11 - Bristol Half- Marathon- N4nny
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
25/09/11 - London Half Marathon Run to the beat: June2009
25/09/11 - New Forest Half Marathon: MoshiMoshi
02/10/11 - Standalone 10K: Futurity
02/10/11 - Bradford Half Marathon - MrsWednesday
02/10/11 - Baxter's River Ness 10k - backwardpossom
02/10/11 - The Run, Northampton - YeahThatsTheBadger
09/10/11 - Great Eastern Run, Peterborough - Futurity
16/10/11 - Abingdon Marathon: MoshiMoshi
30/10/11 - Great South Run: Wheely, squix
20/11/11 - Leeds Abbey Dash (10k) - DrNortherner
19/02/12 - Brighton Half marathon - Wheely
27/05/12 - London Bupa 10K - Futurity

Moshi - sorry I got so het up the talk of potty training I forgot to add my sympathies for your Mum. I hope she gets sorted soon.

Hope you're having a nice holiday Science bar getting lost !!

We all feel like crap parents sometimes am sure. At the moment I am very tired and also preoccupied with moving house so don't feel am at my best with DD. Really want to have a nice time with her the next 4 months before DD2 arrives but am sooooo tired.

I always love that mumsnet reassurance about feeling like a crap parent - e.g. if you really were you wouldn't worry that you are crap . futurity are you following the Hal Higdon plan? I'm using that RW one, slightly toned down. Are we still on for our sub 2:15 challenge? I've about 4 long runs to go, I think...

science I'm a sucker for running books (and I had an amazon voucher left over!)...I shall have a read and see how it goes.

rhet yeap..still going for sub 2hr 15min. Am following a Runners World smart coach one I printed out which has four runs to start off with going up to 5 ...we shall see about that!

Think the top weekly mileage goes up to 30 per week. My speedwork/tempo run is going well at running club..definitely making progress with maintaining a higher speed for longer. I've got longer than you to go though..11 weeks I think. How are you getting on?

yes, only 5 weeks to go - doing ok really - intervals going quite well and endurance improving. But having difficulty fitting in the long runs - up to about 8 miles, but really need to up my distances in the next 3 weeks. Am not going to bother with much in the way of tapering this time. We'll see...

I'm always surprised how long the long runs take! I know that is a silly statement but I you know what I mean..having to factor in 1 1/2 hours minimum to do a long run ..it just takes up so much time! Now if I could only run at Moshi speeds...

Arrgh, so much to catch up on! Moshi hope your mum is ok. V impressed by your long run this morning!

Rhet no advice to offer re potty-training, other than try not to get too stressed by it (easier said than done, I know!). I got myself into a prolonged state of despair with DS1, just kept trying and trying and trying, getting so impatient/wound up etc etc. Was a bit of a shock when I realised that his pal who was 9 months younger would get there first. DH on the other hand was v laid back, and thanks to his calmness and patience, we got there in the end, but not until DS1 was 3 yrs 6 months. DH's bright idea when we had made some progress was to let DS1 wear pants when we were on holiday in Denmark. I thought this was a stupid(!) idea but sure enough, DS1 was a bit of a nosey parker, and loved going in all those different loos...(just realised that you were asking about potty training, so we must have advanced a bit beyond that before getting to the toilet stage). Was so relaxed with DS2 that I really can't remember much about it (apart from the fountain of wee that cascaded out of him one day when he sat at the dinner table!)

Debi well done for parkrun. It is addictive, I just end up wanting a PB every time. I did my first in 26m 44s, have had much wavering up and down, and can now manage sub 25 most Saturdays (give or take). Am now chasing sub 24 though, never satisfied!

z123, an impressibe HM time - wow! Ran my only HM in 2007 in a time of 1hr 55. Hoping I can still manage that when I do a HM later this year. Realistically think should prob aim for sub 2hr though.

No running club for me tonight, feeling v sore-throaty (again). Was looking forward to 3rd of 5k summer time trial series (though have managed to do first 2). On the plus side have managed to get some work done (that I should have finished off last week). Yesterday ran with DS2 in 2 mile fun run. He had a large glug of water just before we started which I suspect caused him to get a stitch, so we had to take it very slowly. He was keen for me to go on without him, and I was tempted, but felt that it would not be in the spirit of the event to abandon him! So was a bit surprised when he suddenly rediscovered the concept of speed and sprinted to the finish - I hard a hard job to keep level with him - I managed, just!

Hello to all the new commers to the thread. Lots going on - taken me ages to catch up.

Moshi - hope your mum is feeling better soon.

rhet - dd's toilet training was hard to start with - we had a potty from when she was about 20 months, she refused to go near it, we had real struggles and tantrums, I gave up at home, but she would use it at Nursery. A friend suggested that I just try the toilet so I put her on the toilet with a trainer seat. She took to that really well - in fact she never used a potty at home and within about a week she was pretty much out of nappies during the day. So, thinking about it - I've never actually cleaned a potty!

DrNortherner - hope you have a great holiday. 2 weeks until I go - can't wait.

N4NNY - love that your garmin has a name

science - that sounds like one of my regular routes! A hilly coastal path, 12 minute miles, stunning scenery but really hard work. I am sure that's why there was such a big improvement between my traing pace for 13 miles and my race pace - it was a bit of a novelty running on the flat and on a road.

Had a good weekend running - 9 miles lsr on saturday morning, then swimming with DD on Saturday afternoon (when I say swimming, its really playing princesses and mermaid football in the pool) then a 3 mile recovery run (in shorts! it must have been warm) on Sunday morning then Sunday afternoon at the beach - it was packed!

Right off to bed - early morning run for me tomorrow.

I?m enjoying stumbling on this thread. I ?ve only recently stated running. I was fairly sporty pre kids (have a 2yr old and 4 yr old) but just ran out of steam/time after they came. Anyway was whining to dh that dd2 was turning 2 and I still hadn?t got my figure back, at which point he entered me into the city to surf and suggest I either trained and did it or stop whinging. Am currently in the really irritating evangelical phase of getting back into shape... So it?s nice to see other people who are also actually interested! Keeping my ambitions fairly modest for my first fun run and just want to complete the (12k) course in under 70 min then see where I go...

(re toilet training, I hate it too, the 2 yr old is probably ready but am waiting for summer to even start...)

Welcome sonic. Am I right in thinking you live in Sydney? A friend of mine mentioned the City To Surf race recently. All levels of runners are on here but we all have in common a slight obsession with running. Some more than others !

DrNo I think I'm just coming out the other side of one of those phases - after my half marathon, I needed a break but I was back out at running club 2 days later. Then i sort of just stopped. Getting back into it now :) and am enjoying it again!

Good morning everyone - welcome sonic - very if you're in Sydney and your DH sounds lovely, very good way of getting to back in shape! I have 2 toddlers and an 8 year old so empathise with lack of energy - I only get out as much as I do because DH works from home, if he was out 10 hours a day my running would be nil and void.

No running for me still - bad cold so going to rest up until I feel better. I've not had even a few days off tuning since Christmas so rest will probably do me good. I do however think I need to change training plan - 6 days a week is impossible - especially with holidays.

Happy running everyone!

Pavlov did you manage to do your "long" run??

running not tuning - damn iPhone spellcheck

herecomes I may take you up on the offer if no one else is interested? What does Paula say about periods? Does it make her go a lot slower as well?

fannybanjo my trainer is always telling me to rest one day a week, and advised me to not run for the 5 days we went on holiday to have a proper break. You give your muscles a good chance to recover properly and come back stronger.
When I came back my cardio was probably around 30% less, I was also three or four pounds heavier (my ability to put on weight truly amazes me) but that all went back to normal within a week. I am definitely faster on short runs now, but I was really knackered before our holiday.

rhet I am quite scared of tapering, it always seems to be a shock to get back to proper running when I slow down. I think I have to have a look at my running plans and adjust my running days so it matches perfectly with race day, I think I have 9 weeks to go including this week.
Was it you who said you might do "run to the beat"?

I had all my training organised and sorted but now my boxing instructor can't do sundays anymore so although I like doing my long run on sundays better than mid week it means I'm knackered on monday and should rest which doesn't work with my work & training schedule!

right, break over, so much work still...

hello everyone - a few days off line so a lot to catch up on!
Moshi hope things improve for your Mum. My Dad and Gran (I know, amazing to even have a Gran at my age!) seem to be on an endless cycle of hospital visits and tests. It's worrying and somehow tedious at the same time. I really hate hospitals, particularly their car parks and waiting rooms...

Fanny bad luck with the cold, wrong time of year for that. But sounds like a rest might have been in order in any case, you exercise freak :)

rhet, just my twopennorth on potty training. DD1 took the longest in the history of toddlerdom to "get it". But then, I did have a tiny DD2 and an accident prone DD1 and lived to tell the tale, just about! DD2, on the other hand, "got it" over a weekend. They're very different characters. So in the end, it has to be child-led because I really can't see how else to do it. Does your daughter go to nursery? I think it really helped both mine to see other children learning. Apparently, in the old East Germany, they would train all the children in the state run creches at the same time...

futurity I think the PR book is good in parts, certainly worth a read... She is a bit "sponsored by Nike", but some good info. So have you and rhet got a sub 2:15 HM goal? Me too :). I'm hoping it's not too way out for me: the first GNR I was just focussing on getting round in one piece, the second I started training OK, then work got busy and I injured my knee (all went a bit wrong, in short!) and was touch and go whether I did it at all. I did, but in 2 hr 34!! Never mind, this time will be better :). I am speeding up a leetle bit with the tempo runs and speed training, but, well, it's still not fast :) But I'm having a nice time, which is the important thing I guess.

sonic hello!

to all those who choose hilly and not hilly runs. If you live on top of a hill in Co Durham, it's all hilly... (Hilly's a weird word if you keep using it :))

oh yes, the running (!) this weekend. 6 miles, 1 hour. This ten minute mile thing has got to improve... will be working on that this week.

Hi all. I'm very proud to report that on Sunday I increased my run from 25 mins to 32 whole minutes At my metronomic 10 minute/mile pace that makes about 3 milesish, which means I could probably survive a Parkrun. I'm going to try it this Saturday. DebitheScot I would like to get me one of those Parkrun chums too. I like the idea of having some regular me and a mate-time on a Saturday morning.

Moshi I don't know the history with your mum but I gather she's been poorly for a while. I hope she's better soon.

Rhet DS is only 23 months so I won't be thinking about potty training for a while yet. Unusually my mum has always strongly advised against trying too early; apparently my older sister had a lot of accidents because she started her too young, she once peed in a neighbour's saucepan. But my younger brother just went straight from nappies to peeing in the toilet standing up, because Mum waited until he was ready (he used a step obviously, he wasn't 9 or anything). DS knows potties are for wee wees because he's seen one in action at the childminder, but as his idea of using it is to sit on the edge with his feet inside it I think we have a while to wait yet. Good luck with your DD.

futurity if you like running books have you read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running? It's not a how-to-run book, more just an about-when-I-ran-an-ultramarathon by a famous metaphysical-type novelist. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. Anyone's welcome for a lend if they're interested.

HURRAY and thanks for the supportive posts. Visited mum today and she is going to be discharged in a few days. It is a bit of a rollercoaster having her be ill and I really do think, like rhet said, it is to do with dad having died so recently.

quenelle - that book by Murakami (Murakami's boob anyone? ) is one of my favourites. As well as the one by Charlie Spedding "From Last to First". Cannot recommend both highly enough. Am currently browsing through Noakes on "The Lore of Running" which is rather large and scientific.

june - to answer your question, I have always run but had various breaks for things like hockey, children, career etc. But generally my life has had running in it. It is like my best friend, it keeps me centered, and I wouldn't be without it.

Quenelle well done! We all started in similar ways, it's a great achievement to be doing 30 minutes non stop running and you will remember how hard it was in the beginning!

Moshi I hope your Mum is okay.

June - Very good advice, thank you - as they say a rest can do no harm but my feet are twitching to get out - I'm in middle of GNR training so really could do without this week off, especially since I am away from 5 August to 12th so will be a struggle to do any proper runs then as well...

sticky more freak than chic, most definitely!!

No running still, probably wait until Thursday morning. I'm exhausted too, so busy with the kids plus getting work done on the garden and it just adds to the mess. Need to get out tomorrow with DC, saves cleaning up all day! Plus point of the day though is that went to get new trainers and my gait assessed. Kids thought it was brilliant and when I was on the treadmill I kept putting the speed up to see how trainers were - I have forgotten how easy it is to run on a treadmill as it's been 12 months since I've used one. I have a neutral foot in both so easy really - was good to hear that I am striking my foot down "correctly"... My legs looked like they were from a dwarf when I was watched it back - I'd love very long legs but hey ho, tough shit!! Bought Brooks Defyance (3) - they were in the sale whereas the Defyance (4) were over £80. Makes sense really. I'm not buying them to look good!

Moshi my post took so long to type that I hadn't noticed you'd updated us re your Mum. Fingers crossed things are all ok. So sorry also to hear your Dad passed away recently. When you say about running being your friend, I feel like that - I don't really ever not have it in my life, if I can't do it, I miss it - I am always preaching to people about how great it is - in fact, sometimes I am more enthusiastic about running than I am DH... - I say to people, it comes as natural to me to run as it does to brush my teeth. It's my routine. I don't know what I'd do if I had an injury. However no-one else I know shares my enthusiasm hence why I LOVE this thread!!

hello all

moshi good to hear your mum is fighting

busy here,we are leaving thu for festival camping trip, hopefully after all the upheaval of the start of the holidays we can start on some sort of routine with a tad more running, dh has been doing v.log hrs, and usual baby sitter is away

thought I'd share this running to work happy running

hello all

veeery long day - two mornings of 5am starts, and another tomorrow :( Have re-jigged my running schedule to try and get a few long runs in as that is the training component that I am missing. And yes, futurity and I have a sub 2:15 pact...the programme involves carefully timed consumption of jelly babies. I'm first - only 5 weeks away and am feeling a bit wobbly about it. But I think I might do another (June2009 not, this year, runtothebeat - I don't think I can manage the weekend away at what is a very busy time of year for me, and DP's birthday to boot) in late September. But I am really hoping for a good time in the Glendalough Trail which I have a bit more time to train for. So stickylittlefingers you're in!

i have a goodish hill on the home stretch to my house, but possibly not of Co. Durham proportions! On the potty training front, she is just not ready but thanks for all the tips and advice. Stored away for future use!

Off to London to visit my mother, so hoping to get time to stick to my training plan - it's always good to run in a different place.

Lol at jelly babies comment! I need to get some really as will soon be up to 10 mile runs so need to practice eating again whilst running. Last half marathon I couldn't stomach much as I was running faster than normal training pace and couldn't face them. I then found last two miles very hard..whether that was due to lack of energy/food or whether due to not having trained further than 11miles..I just don't know. Maybe I should try gels but I haven't heard anyone say anything nice about them!?