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

Thanks all -

science - I think moshi would leave me for dust !! Your afternoon sounds great, right decision for sure.

rhet - hope you're feeling better soon. V. frustrating for you but make sure you take it easy for now.

Squix - well done on 10 miler in the heat (I was blessed with dry cool weather for mine thankfully)

SFX - DId I say, well done for entering the 10K. I looked at that one but don't think I'll do it the weekend before the GSR.

Rest day here although might get out for a pootle on my bike later - once we're home. But that might just be my 2K round trip to the shops !

I signed up last min for a 10k run today in Bath hope it goes ok not sure if I've pushed myself too much this week this will be my 5th run in 7 days hoping for 1h 15 but we will see

best od luck N4NNY

Wheely I have to say it amused me that the description said 'plenty for the boys to do while cheering their ladies' or some-such, dh now dreading some Top Gear? Footie kind of nonsense for his 'entertainment'

rhet how are you today? love the Toy Story films even after countless repeat viewings

off to do some running today while dd rides and does horsy stuff

sfx feeling a bit wobbly after night of temperature and delirious dreams; but going to take it easy as i have an non-negotiable work thing all day tomorrow. Hope to get out for a run again on Tuesday if I am better

good luck N4NNY

N4NNY good luck! You have so caught the running bug!

Perhaps some scantily clad ladeez too SFX ?!

N4NNY - hope it went well !

Sticky - thanks for the review of HH. Sounds like DD1 would love it, but might have to wait until it comes out on dvd - probably won't be long though.

Happened to walk passed a sports shop today nd they had exactly the water bottle belt someone recommeneded ages ago (think it might have been MrsWednesday - where is she ?) - the Nathan triangle. I convinced DH he would like to buy it so now have both options (the bigger hand held thing arrived too and feels very big - I have little hands but then the belt felt quite bulky. These things are not designed for midgets).

snort that will scare him

I am quite a bad bike rider but it was brilliant fun today renting a tandem and going for a ride with dh

rhet it sounds grim but make sure you take good care of yourself

My 10k today was awful heavens opened as i was going out to get my lift so was soaking before we even got to the venue. When we arrived at Dyrham Park and saw the hil we had to face not just once but three time we almost ran screaming back to the car. the course was 3 laps crosscountry over short grass, long grass, wet grass there were hidden pot holes cow, deer and sheep poo it was very hard going trying to avoid the holes and the poo and trying not to slide onto my bum on the very slippy downhill sections. I came in last in 1 hr 21 so not as fast as i hoped but i'm glad i did it all because at the start of the first lap i didnt think i was going to complete all 3 laps. I will NEVER run at Dyrham Park again :-)

N4NNY - sounds tough going, but you know what? you stuck with it and you finished - that's brilliant. FWIW it sounds very like my terrible half marathon, except that it was also very windy and up and then down the side of a mountain with lots of rocks. But you should be so so proud of yourself for not giving up and keeping on to the finish line.

In other news I am feeling much better - still tired - and had lovely day with DD and DP. House is now full of fruit and veg from the allotment (just as an aside I gave DD carrots and broccoli that we picked this afternoon and she ate all of it - normally she picks and only eats some. I wonder if it just tastes nicer, e.g. more full of vitamins and things she needs )

N4NNY that sounds bloomin tough. And if you came in last with that time it must have been a very fast field, the 10k's I do there are folk coming in past 1.30.

Rhet sounds like you need some vitamins too. I would love an allotment but they are so time consuming aren't they? Plus, I can't even keep bedding plants alive......

Where is Moshi? Have I missed something about her Mum?

I am still debating if I should sign up for the Bradford half......seem to have lost a bit of form with longer runs and am even needing to stop a little when I do 5/6. What's all that about?

Managed a little 5k with the dog today, his tail is on the mend, he is back to half a wag

N4NNY that sounds testing but like rhet says you had the perseverance to finish it, well done

DrN moshi on hols, making the locals eat her dust, or sand

moshi flew to Spain with Ryanair - we may never see her again

DrNo actually allotment has been very neglected this year - did better last year because DD wasn't mobile and she would sit and watch me weed and sow and plant - now she runs off in all directions and jumps in puddles and demands that we dig up potatoes...but I'd say I spend about 2 hours a week max on it - it isn't very big which is currently a mercy, but may be limiting when we are a family of four (yikes)

I also know what you mean about longer runs - I've done so few of them and it's self-fulfilling now. It's simply that your body adapts to what you ask it to do - also you may be trying to run them too fast now that you've discovered speed - slow them down by a minute per mile and you'll find that you can complete them easily. Then start throwing in 2-3 miles at race pace. I'm brilliant at telling other people how to run !

Hey n4nny good on you for keeping going, are they all on speed out there that you were the last one with 1:21?? Cowpats, that's all you need!!! I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to hills to be honest and I avoid them at all costs, in training and in races...There's a big one outside my house and if I slow down anymore when I run it I'll stop!

drNo Could it be just a phase? It has happened to me after either just before or just after my last 10k, had to stop several times. I'm fine now though.

Today was a bit of a challenge as I really did not feel like going for a long run.
But then I thought to myself that it would be interesting to see how far I could go in that frame of mind, after all I don't know how I will feel the morning of the HM.
Well it wasn't tooo bad. I did just short of 18k (first time over 10 miles!Yay), I had a dull ache on my right knee at around 16k and had to walk for around 400 metres. Bummer, will have to watch out for that.

Am I right in thinking that if you run longer your pace will/should automatically be slower (at least in training) or am I wrong here?
My pace today was shockingly slow though, 12 minutes per mile (did 11.05 miles in 2:13).
Doesn't matter anyway, I'm still feeling confident that I can finish my half at the end of september but really glad I'm training hard for it.

Also had my very first gel, lucozade, and couldn't stop thinking of the texture and laughing to myself about what you guys compared it to :D
I think next time I will use some at around 9k and some later around 16k, definitely helped.

Do some people really complete a marathon without any training??? I can't beleive it. It is so much hardwork physically AND mentally.
Several times today I was trying to tell myself, "doesn't matter about the pace, you're just training, seeing how it goes" etc, but the competitive me kept on pushing. . At least today I didn't feel like running was not for me :D that's some kind of progress right LOL .

June I hope just a phase yes, plus, I have a head cold and am full of snot so think this is not helping things. I can not believe some folk do marathons with zilch training. How do they manage it? They must takes aaages to recover.

Thank you everyone once again for your moral support i was feeling really down cause i felt i had done so bad but after all your kind words i am feeling better. I also have looked up my time for the 10k i did at ashton court last October (Also hilly) and my time was 1hr 35 so its a big inprovement.

I dont know what some of the fast runners had been on but as i was coming down the hill for the second time to loop round and go back up i was over taken by about 6 runners heading to the finish line twas a bit depressing lol

N4NNY hee, hee, on my horrid half marathon I was about 2 miles off the finish line when I was passed by one of the full marathon runners June2009 well done on the 18k - my long runs are usually at snail's a stately pace, but I've started chucking in a couple of kms at a slightly faster pace

I don't know why anyone wants to run marathons

Was it paula radcliffe rhet ;)

june2009 if so, something catastrophic has happened both to her jawline and her hair lol

having you seen our Paula run? she has finished before I manage to start super speedy and funny thing with her neck

I did see Andrew Marr running today, quite speedy but not in same league

science That was a great and impressive time. Was you in Swanage by any chance? If so I was also in the fun run but with alot slower time normally run that route the other way round.

No running for me this weekend -still running round looking after dd2. Highlight though was when dd1 (not quite 4yrs old) decided she wanted to go jogging like mummy. we both dressed in jogging kit, she put the Garmin on , and went for a loop round the park and back. Watch said she did 1.3km in 10 min, and I showed her where she had run on ggogle maps,which she loved. I also let her win the sprint finish, and had to put up with her telling dh, and then phong my brother to tell him she was "speedier than mummy" .

Just googled swimmer's tail - poor doggy!

N4NNY that sounds heroic. I agree it must have been a pretty fast field to finish last in your time esp with those conditions. Just think what sort of time you will be able to run on a flat road race.

It seems to have finally stopped raining here - there has been quite alot of flooding around and our water supply was cut off (again) yesterday. I have got sore calves today after doing Davina McCall High Energy Five aerobics - this must be strengthening my calves for my new supersilent stealth running technique.

Well Done Sonic's DD1 - my DD is keen too but would not manage that distance - we tend to do sprints up and down our road. My neighbours find it amusing to watch a grown woman sprinting past their living rooms.

How old is your dd chewy? I think the most impressive thing on her performance was the fact is was accompanied by non-stop chatter!

She's just turned 5 Sonic (starting school next week - eek!). She is still at that stage where it is either walking slowly or sprinting flat out with no in between.

my DD (2.6) also loves to run 'races', she lines up and says 'ready, steady, go' and we run ('I'm running fast, mummy!'). I usually win, despite the high incidence of false starts.