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 Chewy, no its a problem I was born with. Dont quite fancy doing a Paula Radcliffe

Welcome orange, can't say I've done any 10ks with toilets half way round. How frustrating for you. Do thye think your condition will improve?

At work this morning and trying to drum up interest into putting a team in the Leeds Abbey Dash to raise funds for our nominated charity. Have about 6 people doing it so far, all of varying running abilities which is great. We have a new lad here, about 22, thinks he is the dogs bollocks, hasn't committed to entering but was boastinghe can run 3 miles in 9 minutes to which everyone said how good he must be. I couldn't bite my tongue and said '3 miles in 9 minutes? That's a 3 minute mile. If true, you are clearly are a very good runner and the world record holder for the fastest mile'

He went and said he might have got it wrong. He needs to go home and check on his certificate apparantly........

Rhet - glad to hear you're going so well

M&M: I worry about snakes sometimes, especially in the morning, but just try and assume that my plod is no noicy they'll all have fled...

DRNo - shame on you for not encouraging your new record holder!

At this end, dd2 is now thankfully better, but managed to pass her virus on to me, which left me too drained to go running for nearly two weeks now (felt so exhausted after a so family amble along the beach on Saturday I had a 3 hour nap...) Have felt like i?m turning the corner now though, so the question is, if I manage to get out for a jog on wed, then on the weekend, do you think I can get race fit again in time for a 12km race on the 28th? Before I got the bug I was easily going 11km, so I really just need to get back where I was. And should I still ?taper? in the last week, or use that to try and get the km back up too? Am a but gutted really after all the work so far...

As a silver lining (scraping deparately here) 10 days of illness has achieved what 6 months dedicated exercise and sensible dieting failed to do, and I lost a little over 3kg in a fortnight.. I know it?s not real, and will prob all come back on, but one has to take consolation where one can!

Hi everyone, it's been ages since I posted on here but I have been lurking and absorbing all the running wisdom

I have a question about longer runs. This morning I did almost 8miles, which I have built up to over the last week or two from regular 4-5 mile runs previously [it did take me nearly 80 minutes but it was quite hilly and so, v proud emoticon]! I never take any snacks or drinks with me but today, at around 7m mark/ and over an hour's running, I really started to find it tough. Do you longer distance runners think this was just because I was pushing myself to the longer time and distance, or is it worth thinking about taking sone jelly babies (or whatever you recommend) to help energy levels? What distance runs would you say you should be doing this and at what points do you eat/drink?

Cherry I use Runmeter and I love it! Couldn't afford to buy a garmin plus I set my runmeter to inform me over my headphones every three mins my pace, time and mileage so I don't have to check. Works for me plus means I have iPhone on me which means music plus can make emergency calls if need be (or DH can ring me to see how long I'm going to be...)

Welcome Orange and well done to your boys!

Did 12.5 miles last night LSR - 9 min mile, was easy which I was shocked about as been away and not done LSR for 2 weeks. Going to up mileage to 15 miles over next few weeks. Received my pack for GNR - getting excited!!!

Hi SleepwhenIdie - I have read that anything over 1 1/2 hours, you'd probably want something to keep you going. I reckon, if you feel like you need it, you probably do. Not great getting lightheaded when you're a long way from home on your own...

Fanny I got my pack too! Makes it much more real, doesn't it? The chip brough back memories - of how very far it was to my foot once I got past the finish . That piece about Sonia O'Sullivan was interesting - amazing time when she had to start from the back and hop round all those people (including me!!)

DrNo tee hee! Pricking an over-inflated ego is a pleasure that never fades... I love it he has a certificate to check!!

I have the worst cold ever (may be the first woman to contract man-flu). It comes complete with a chesty cough, so on the neck down rule I guess I'm not running. :( Am concentrating on not being impossible to live with...

Hi guys, I'm lurking on this thread and lapping up all the good advice, thought I should say hi.

I've almost completed the C210k programme and almost feel like I can describe myself as a runner...

Oooh bit about me, I'm in Cork, Ireland, have completed a few 10 mile and halves in the past but pretty rubbish really, lots of walking etc. This time I'm just running without training for a specific race.

Trying to just find some love for running. I think I have that now, seeing as it's pissing it down here and all I can think about right now is how great it will be to finish work and get out for a run tonight.

Have two dc and a dh, am 45, could stand to lose a stone I guess, but frankly I just want to focus on the running and not bother about the weight loss element of it.

That's me! Hi everyone

PS: Can someone tell me what LSR means?

hi encyclogirl! Hope you get out of work soon (and that it stops raining!)

The LSR is nothing fancier than a long slow run. My favourite sort! Although fannybanjo's idea of an LSR is my idea of a miraculously fast run, that's the joy of running, for me - the competition is purely internal. I'm just pleased if I'm getting faster than the me-of-last-week.

Welcome newbies.

Dr No. That'll teach him.

Please can someone give me their best hm training schedule? I've got 10 weeks and I am going to break my 2hr limit, even if it jolly well kills me. Intervals here I come.

Thanks for the welcome, no it wont get better I persume robably get worse with age. Hope you feeling better soon stickyfingers
Im about to go out for a 10k, feeling a bit stressed so hope it hels

Just trying to jump back on to this fast moving thread! Been away on holiday for last couple of weeks and have been busy staying away from both electronic devices and running (oh, and the general low key neighbourhood looting round where I live... good couple of weeks to be out of London I think)

Welcome to all the new folk on here. Sounds like there's some great running going on (especially you rhet, who appears to have been steadily accelerating over the last fortnight!). Was down in Richmond Park for an afternoon just before I left and thought of you all - looks like an absolutely stunning place to run round.

Managed first run in 2 weeks last Friday night which surprisingly turned out to be quite quick (6k in 28 mins) but longer 12k interval run in this morning was much less fun than usual. HM in just under 4 weeks time which I'm now woefully under-prepared for in terms of longer runs but hey, let's see what happens!

Master, have you looked at the RW website for schedules? They've got some great HM ones built around 10 - 12 week schedules aimed at getting under 2 hours. Obviously they're massively impractical in terms of fitting into a normal life but they've got some good ideas on how to structure the 10 - 12 weeks.

SleepwhenIdie, I'd say personally up to HM distance I'm not sure you really need gels/ jelly babies etc. as you're depleting your glycogen reserves in the same way you are at longer distances. It may just be a question of getting used to spending a bit more time on your feet, especially over hills. Maybe think about isotonic energy drinks like Lucozade Sport if you feel you need some sort of lift on the way round?

Love my iPhone with Runmeter for running fannybanjo - all in one bit of Garmin and iPod as you say, plus a map function for when you get lost....!

Hi everyone.
Well, very little sensations in my knees today so hopefully something has worked!

I am going to start on the bupa plan for building up to 10k and am really excited at hopefully being able to achieve this in the eight weeks it said!

Sorry, another question. My gym membership runs out shortly. Should I renew it or not bother and aim to run outside instead. I live a 5 minutes walk from a park which is ideal for running in but would be hard I guess to measure distance. I only use the gym to take dd swimming and for the treadmill (could take dd to public pool instead)??

busy on here today!

Dr No - just brilliant; the art of the putdown, sorted (bet you are faster than him...)

sonic - I'd say that your background fitness will mean you'll be fine - like cestlavie I'm a bit low on long runs for my 10 miler on Sat, but worse case scenario you end up walking a bit more than you'd like - you'll still feel better for having done it

sleep, I'm with slf on this (and cest), I would have water in summer for longer runs, but think anything else is a bit distracting. A few jelly babies are always nice though :)

slf good to have you back, even if it is with a yorkshire lurgy - have fond memories of walking the North York Moors when I was a lass - Pickering and Helmsdale. Must take DP and DDs there sometime (when we were in the Peaks last year and then in Norfolk DP said to me, 'wow, England is lovely, isn't it?'. Like many Irish people she'd never really been to the countryside in England). It sounds like climbing the walls might be preferable to running for a couple of days.

welcome newbies, too - encyclogirl, lovely to have another Irish based runner on here! are you Cork city or county (my DP is north Cork through about 10 generations, so I know it well)? There are some great races around if you need the motivation, but I also get the running for the joy of it.

rainbow - purely personal; for me a lot of the point is being outside and you really don't need to worry that much about accurate measurement. I use the gym once a week for intervals, but avoid it like the plague the rest of the time. There are loads of online sites and apps for measuring distance, have found the one I use accurate within about 500m now that I have a Garmin. Obsessing about paces on training runs, unless they are targetting a particular pace will just make you miserable - just run!!

Did a nice 4+ miles, good paces, with a slower km in the middle...it started raining as I headed out the door. Didn't care :o

Right, will shut up now - sorry if I've missed anyone!

rainbowinthesky measuring your distance, to do it cheaply you could get a pedometer, or a bit more get nike plus or splash out on a garmin . If I am running on the road I use womens running website, you can plot your route and it tells you how far it is.
My local pool also has a gym which you can either join or pay a one off £30 for induction then £2.50 every time I use it. I hardly use it, but when weather really bad or it gets late its always an option and alot cheaper than a membership every month

rainbow do you have a smartphone? If you do there are a few apps out there for free or not much. I used runkeeper before I got my new Garmin. I find it comes out slightly short usually but if you then go onto the website and look at the map it's because it makes you cut corners and if you're obsessing about it being precise you can fix it on the map.
I personally have never been a gym member and like running outside. I like the fresh air and would get very bored on a treadmill.

I was undecided today about a run or a cycle but then ds1 was hideous at bedtime (very unlike him) and so I decided I needed speed so went for a 10 mile cycle instead. Couldn't go further as it was getting dark.
Used the garmin and I liked seeing my lap times. It's amazing how much difference having to stop for junctions or lights makes. A mile I had to stop in took about 90 seconds longer than when I didn't!

Hi everyone, got back from my holidays on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Feel like a big fat bloater - did get a run in Cardiff, but nothing in Germany (and far too much beer and bratwurst!) - running club going to be a struggle tomorrow...

Hope everyone is well and the running is enjoyable! :)

Thanks for the advice, rhet, slf and cest, sound like it's not sugar I need, I just have to keep practicing the longer (for me), runs and get used to it . Heading to the Alps for hols tomorrow, not looking forward to the loong drive with the 3 DC's killing each other playing noisily in the back seat and I suspect my runs will suddenly get a lot shorter, given that no matter what direction you head over there, the ground keeps going up and up and up! Still, it should get me fitter, some interval training at altitude . If it proves too hard I'll switch to the pool for workouts!

Hello, another lurker 'coming out' to say hello. I am by no means a serious runner but I've done a couple of slow 10ks a few years ago. I've started up again a few weeks ago because I want to lose some weight and get fitter. I turned 40 last year and just feel a bit saggy and want to do something about it. So, I've signed up for a 10k in October and I intend to do it well, rather than struggle round as I did before! I did 5k nonstop tonight in 40mins and I'm planning to get out 3 or 4 times a week. The brilliant thing this time round is that I am actually enjoying it, and looking forward to each run. That's never happened before! So I'm going to enjoy getting hints, tips and motivation from all you more experienced runners to get me through this 10k and keep it up afterwards.

sleep - alpine running, get you! sounds lovely
piffpaffpoff welcome, that sounds like a great plan and that you are well on target for your 10k. Most of us on here (I'm guessing....) are a few years either side of 40 - it's a good age for running!

By the way, rainbow wrt your gym membership, if all you do is run then it sounds as if binning it may be the best plan, however I am not such a dedicated runner (though getting more so) as lots of people here. I am also a great believer in cross training, particularly sessions with weights. I think they are hugely beneficial, including for running and also balancing things out physically IYKWIM? I'm not sure i could ever rely solely on running for exercise, but I realise that weight training is many runners idea of hell ! That is why I wouldn't give up my membership...also being a complete running wimp so far when it comes to rain/cold, though I am sure I'll be tougher this winter

rhet you have a strange idea of lovely

I have also been muttering lately about giving road biking a go, DH is a big fan. He suggested we hire a bike over there so I can try it...what do you cyclists think? Is first try in the Alps (close to Alpe d'Huez) a very bad plan? Maybe he is trying to put me off it ?

Welcome newbies!

No running this weekend. Was at a party saturday night and I think something I ate gave me food poisoning. Had vomiting and diarrhoea that night. I have a strong stomach so luckily it was fairly shortlived. Felt better today but thought best to wait til tomorrow to get out.

piff i'm doing a 10k in October too. Add your race to the list and it will spur you on even more.

It's getting trickier to go out in the evening after dc are in bed. I don't mind running in the dark but our local council are trying to save money and so have switched off the majority of the streetlights where we are. Think I might have to join a gym...

herecomes why not add a km to a couple of your weekly runs, and then after a couple of weeks, add a couple more? I know what you mean about long runs - they are time-consuming and dull for the slower paced women plodders on the thread. I too am not keen to run more than about 12 miles in all honesty - I just don't think that the kinds of times I can do justify it IYSWIM e.g. relationship between outlay and expenditure (time, sweat, goodwill etc) ain't worth it.

I did 35 miles last week, mostly by running every day - this is a new departure for me, but I think I am up to it now. It's actually easier for me to make it non-negotiable, as I work at home and do lots of childcare so it's easy for that 'flexibility' to turn into my not running. So I have been doing my usual interval run, and long(ish)run, plus a medium run (6-7 miles) and the others 3-4 miles which takes even me 30-40 minutes. It all adds up! But I'd be more worried about the niggles you're talking about.

Anyway, do you need to run more? why do you think you do? You are running as much as time and your body will allow - as I say, just add a couple of kms here and there from time to time. Or alternate a high mileage week with a lower mileage week? There's no magic number for weekly mileage (is there?), just what works for you in the context of your life (I can run every day because DP is at home too and I am not tied to an office, or someone else's schedule, at least not in August :o)

sorry for essay!