runners united: the newly garminified thread for people who love running

[rhetorician]

all welcome: young, old, fast, slow, running for a week or 20 years, on-road, off-road, racing. Add yourself to the list, or just post!

20/08/11 - Frank Duffy 10 mile, Dublin - rhetorician
29/08/11 - Spofforth 10k Trail Race - DrNortherner
03/09/11 - Dingle Half-Marathon - rhetorician
04/09/11 - Great Scottish Run Half-Marathon: EmmaBemma
11/09/11 - Bristol Half- Marathon - thetasigmamum
11/09/11 - Bristol Half- Marathon- N4nny
11/09/11 - Addidas 5K: MoshiMoshi
18/09/11 - GNR: Hamster, Run for fun, popsycal, LaLa, SLF, Fannybanjo
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, Quenelle
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
09/10/11 - Herts 10k - WishIwasCherryMenlove
16/10/11 - Abingdon Marathon: MoshiMoshi
30/10/11 - Great South Run: Wheely, squix
30/10/11 - Nairobi Standard Chartered Half Marathon - M&M
05/11/11 - Glendalough Trail Run - rhetorician
19/11/11 - Maasai Mara Half Marathon - M&M
20/11/11 - Leeds Abbey Dash (10k) - DrNortherner
27/11/11 - City of Norwich half marathon: ibbydibby
19/02/12 - Brighton Half marathon - Wheely
22/04/12 - VLM: MoshiMoshi, ibbydibby
27/05/12 - London Bupa 10K - Futurity

Kimberlina - there was an article in Runner's World Magazine recently about kids running. I don't know if it is available online - if not I am sure I could dig it out for you.

In the absence of any race reports (or indeed much running) from me I present a New Shoe Report...

I just got my new Brooks Green Silence (from Millett Sports via Amazon). They are super light and look really fast! Really low profile but still feel better cushioned than my knackered old support trainers. Rather odd one sided tongue and asymmetric lacing. The size 8 seem to fit my large feet rather nicely (similar sizing to my Nikes). In short, they feel great and now I want DH to come home so I can go and try them out.

Is this the article here? It's by Sam Murphy and was written in May 2011.

I think your best bet would be to phone a local running club and see what age they will take children, or ask if there are any clubs specifically for children in your area.

There is a 12 week course near us for children aged 5 - 15 which is general athletics covering running, jumping and throwing, so less intensive than just running. I am hoping that DS2 will decide he wants to go to this!

Welcome Kimberlina. My DS (8) runs with me. He does about 3M quite easily. I would never push him and watch him carefully to ensure he is finding it easy and enjoying it. I think the key is to make it enjoyable. I know he can manage 3M easily so my objective is to give him an introduction to running and how to enjoy the experience. He can then decide whether he wants to continue with it. So far he is quite keen though and loves to accompany me and my dog!

Hi Kimberlina DS10 and I are ruminating about joining a running club. He's very interested too. He can manage about 2 miles ATM.

Rhet let's just say the forecast is for rain tomorrow and ds is beside himself with joy. "Makes it easier to slide in for the try Mum, and softer on the tackle" Come's home absolutely caked in mud. DH trains the team and he's worse if anything!

DrNo Yes, she recently said she hates running more than any exercise and thinks there can be no greater punishment devised by man than a marathon. But she does it because "Running makes you skinny". Hmmm, really? Not down this way it doesn't

Oh God, Oh God I don't want to run tonight. We've had a very traumatic week due to DD15 starting in her new school. She has downs and autism and change is a big deal. We've had a very successful week all things considered, but it's been mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting for us all.

I had a 7 miler planned. I've already talked myself into a 5 miler instead, and now I'm hating the thought of it.

I need to talk myself back into it, mostly because I know I'll feel soooo much better for doing it. The other option is to stay home and eat crisps....

Mmmm....crisps....

Please, someone come in an kick my arse. Please!

encyclo that does sound like a tough week; how about you tell yourself you'll go out and do 3 miles and then see how you feel at the point that you would be turning for home...it usually works for me

consider your arse kicked! I want to hear later that you went out for 3, but actually did 5. But don't push it, either.

encyclo that sounds like a tough week by anyone's standards. How did dd cope with it all? You will feel better after a run you know you will!

Another day of rest for me today and I am delighted to report my leg is not as sore when walking, so, fingers crossed its on the mend. Dh and ds at football in the morning I'm going to do at least 3 miles steady with the dog. Am looking forward to it.

Ds is upstairs having a NERF war with 3 friends. The noises are horrendous. Keep wondering if I should investigate or leave them to it?.....

You know you'll feel better for it encylco. Running so helps me sort my head out and Friday evening running is great way to end the week. Just run as far as you feel comfortable. Run fast or slow, whatever feels right.

And then, best of all, you can come back and eat twice as many crisps and feel okay about it!

Very quick post as up the bloody wall with kids, gardening, house blah blah blah. Will read through thread later and reply properly.

The GARMIN Eagle has landed....

Anyone with 2 mins to let me know how to use it - instructions seem bit meh... I am charging it up ready to use in about an hour. It's the 110.

Dead easy to use Fanny!

Press page to find a signal (don't press and hold as that takes you to menu), then press start when ready to go.

If you want it to record your mile splits you need to set this up in the laps function - you'll need to read instructions for that bit as I can't remember how I did it. It will show you current pace when you run, it shows average pace when the run has finished. Enjoy!

I hope you went encyclo because it'll shame me, who procrastinated too much last night and ended up playing Disney Monopoly with the dc then decided it was too late to go out... Taking DD to a new school sounds totally draining and emotional for you both, how has she settled in this week?

DS1 who is 7, has been having cross country training this week, doing hills, intervals and a 4k circuit three times a week. He is also going off the cross country 'camp' tomorrow for the night with a friend, he is the youngest there and it's the first time he has stayed away from home, camping and not on a sleepover. He just loves all sport, but I'm keen for him not to run everyday as I'm conscious of overworking his little body.

Maybe too late but agree that a little run tonight might help you wind down encyclo, after what must have been a very stressful week. Hope she has settled well at new school. And agree the crisps will taste all the err.. crispier after a run. Don't beat yourself up if you don't do it though.

Moshi, definitely keep them. Am sure you will regret it if not and what a lively thing to look back on.

Hope DS's camp away goes well Master.

Right, I may not be running right now but here are my goals for 2012

1. get back into running as soon as possible, possibly by soaking money on the city jogger pram so I can run with DD2 while DD1 is st pre-school

2. run a 10k race in Spring, with no time in mind, just to run it all.

3. maybe run a half in the Autumn (perhaps Cardiff)

oh, and of course lose all the baby weight in the process.

4. and get garminified!!!!!

A lovely thing to look back on, and spanking money on city jogger.

Jeez...

That's the one Ibby.

Well the shoes are fast! I did 2 x 10mins easy running with a 5 min walk in between and still came in at 10.59 min/miles.

I just read that as "spanking monkey" peach.

Well we'll have none of that round here littlechief!!!

Sounds like a tough week encyclo but am sure you'll feel better after a run. I hope its all gone ok for all of you.

Moshi - DH lost his father about 8 years ago and about 5 years ago found some letters his Dad had written to him when he was at university. He was so happy to find them. As othershave said, put them away for now and they may well give you some comfort in time.

After my optimism my bro (doom and gloom merchant) has been on and doesn't think I'll be up and running anytime soon. Grrrrrr. Might go to gp on monday to get a referal for physio to get some idea of what they think. At the very least, I can get a refund on my GSR entry fee up to 6 weeks before the race. I will see what the weekend/post weekend brings.

encyclo hope you're out there and feeling better. It amazes me how even a little run can help the stress slide away.

moshi I agree, definitely keep the letters. It can be very therapeutic when you're feeling lonely and in need of a bit of an emotional wallow later on.

wheelybug it sounds like a good idea to get an expert's advice so that you feel "safe" going back to the running. Do you know anyone else who's used a physio? I ask because my experience with physios was that as soon as I mentioned it, all the sporty people at work were explaining who I shouldn't and should go to, because they vary so much (apparently).

Having said that, i could feel where I hurt my knee again today - decided what I really needed was some proper hill training, so spent 40 minutes running up a hill, jogging down again. By the end I was really wondering why oh why oh why I'd put myself through it! There better way be some improvement...

I'm still thinking about the goals. I purposefully have not had them, so that I wouldn't stress/obsess about running (the way I do about everything else!). But now I'm not working, perhaps I could do with introducing a modicum of stress into my life!

sticky you can try going with non-stressy goals - like running a certain distance over the course of a year, or doing a certain number of races. The goals don't have to be speed-related!

I am TIRED...and I still have a pile of work to do

wheely Although I wouldn't say it was no bad thing to get advice from a GP before going out again, I also think YOU know more than the GP with respects to how your ankle feels - he will only press on it etc to see if you are in pain. If you are feeling no pain at all and there is no swelling, you "should" be good to go...

Moshi Don't throw the letters etc away, you will truly regret it. You can't replace them. Haha at wanting to outrun the bloke, I outran two tall fit men last week, for at least a mile, they weren't impressed!

Sticky you getting nervous....? (GNR in case you're wondering!) I am! How is training going?

Encyclo Hope you are feeling a tiny bit less stressed and hope all is okay with your DD.

LADIES THE GARMIN IS DA DOGS BOLLOCKS!!!!!!!!! I AM SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY IMPRESSED WITH THIS TINY MACHINE WHICH HAS TRANSFORMED MY RUNNING LIFE ALREADY DrNo Thanks for the advice, I must have sounded a right thicko - I was trying to sort it with kids going crazy!

Well I took Da Dog's Bollocks Garmin out for a run just. I also took Iphone with Runmeter on. Did 1 mile warm up at 9m/m. Intervals of 8 x 0.25m at 7m/m and 8 x 0.25 at 9.30m/m (4 miles). Cool down for 1.25 miles at 10m/m. Total 6.33 miles on Garmin - average pace 8.53m/m. Flaming Runmeter had me doing a 5.45 mile run at average pace 10.52!! Have to say phone was on low battery which really does affect the Runmeter App but bloody hell!!! I was gobsmacked. I love it. I am going to marry it. DH is now redundant!

oops sticky didn't see your last message!

Rhet needed to make the evening go smoother?

My goal - to run my 10k in 6 weeks or so non stop, like piffpaff said above, just finish non stop whatever the time

I tried out some interval training today in the park, but got attacked, not once but twice by the same black pitbull beast - earning the owner the privilege of my headphones coming off and being told to "get his stupid dog away from me" - lucky my running has improved recently so I could sprint off before he could say anything.

I have been getting really bad shin pain recently, perhaps due to the increase in running. Does anyone have any top tips for this? Instintively I feel like I want to have hot baths and ice them, and also stretch my calves. It seems worse after intervals/sprinting, so that's why I tried doing it on the grass in the park (in between being mauled by the pitbull) - any suggestions for non impact intervals?

rhet i was going to work this evening as DP is away, but couldn't bring myself to. Put the work down!

always helps...

garmin related question: does anyone else find that it gives very odd paces when running under trees? e.g. impossibly slow ones? I think it is because it can't pick up a signal, so thinks you have run less distance in the given time (I think it updates every 15 metres or so) than you have...but it's usually not a long enough period for it to conclude that the satellites have flown to another universe...it sorts itself out but it's a bit disconcerting

Thanks - I'll see how it goes over the weekend I think and try not to think about it until after that. Its still sore to press round the ankle bone and there is still a little bit of swelling ( my scientific use of a bit of string to measure both ankles suggests there's not much asusming both ankles were the same size before !!).

I am very tired tonight so easily thinking negatively ! One positive to come out of it is how I want to run. Even a year ago I might have looked on it as a good excuse not to. I think I am missing exercise too so if I can get out over the weekend and do something gym/bike then that'll make me feel better.

Right everyone - work away and wine out ! That's an order.

Although not you peach - you may have a lemonade and extra nibbles.

s'all right Fanny. I was thinking back to myself, desperate to run the GNR but having a knee that hurt so much... then a lovely physio sorted me out. Wheelybug's ankle is obviously not my knee! Am jealous of your Garmin though

rhet - hope you get a good night's sleep soon. DP had it easier because I couldn't bear to be in bed (reflux - lurvely) so would end up sloping off and sleeping sat up in the living room instead. Much as I loved being pregnant, when I think back to all the little aches and pains (and dinner unexpectedly making an exit out my nostrils...)