Runners United - Conwy Cockwatch, a live birth and Alex "Rhet" Ferguson in one thread. What more could we ask for?

[fannybanjo]

LET'S FUCKING DO IT....!

If you think of the swim in terms of time rather than distance 200m-400m is not much of a jump. I'm very slow and it 'only' takes me 10 mins to swim 400m.

Both tris I did this year had people doing breast stroke and cycling on mountain bikes or even really old rickety bikes. I did them both on a mountain bike but did have hybrid tyres and my bike is small and light (for a mountian bike). I wasn't even close to last in the swim which is my worst part.

I've heard Dornay Lake is boring as it's lots of laps. I'd love to do Blenheim and was tempted for next year but I'm not confident enough that I could get over my open water fear before then. And dh would freak at the £70 entry fee! I think there's a cycling event at Blenheim too which I might look into.
I think any sprint tri (usually 400m swim, 20km bike and 5km run but all parts can vary) in a pool will have a good mix of people in it. And they're not so expensive.

Rhet, you could just run round the block about 1000 times....

Yayyy, well done Jez, look forward to hearing how you got on. Boo to pooter!

running great race report and great time! Well done. Your poor toe though! Hope it recovers quickly. Am very impressed by your culinary efforts, and a walk after. You are superwoman!

There used to be a contingent each year from my school who would go off to Bicton College. Pretty area, round Woodbury, I'd imagine it would be quite undulating though (for undulating read tough!)

Well done Running! can't believe you went home and cooked for 9 and then went walking! Are you superwoman??? That's a really interesting (and technical) approach to a race, sounds like you got a great result from it too! You ate Rhet, can be heart rate buddies! Toe sounds excruciating, look after it!!

Weird identical x posting with you there sticky!!!

no peach, I never accused running of eating rhet...

I somehow missed running's post. A great report and very impressed by your cooking!
Great reports from squix and ibby too.

Well done to all this weekend's racers, and thanks for race reports. Squix I had a moment where you went off 'for a wee jaunt' where I thought, now that's a well organised race, before I realised that I was at cross purposes with you. Although given the state of my pelvic floor most runs involve a wee jaunt for me.

Futurity thanks for the link to the RW half marathon smart coach. I've had a look at it and I'm a bit confused. I put in the speed of my last HM and all the runs are slower than I currently do. Not sure whether I'm going to make sense here but my average time for a 3 mile run currently is around 9.50/mile. When I did my HM my average pace was 11.01/mile and in the three 10 mile runs I did before that it was an average of 10.55/mile. Should I be looking to run slower in training and then up the pace on the day or should I be looking to build miles at a faster average speed than my previous HM. Can anyone help?

If my hip stops giving me gip (please God) then I would like to aim to complete it in sub 2.15. Ipswich HM I did in 2.24. Is that realistic given that I have cut back radically on miles since then?

Great race running ! I hope the toe improves soon. I can't view your garmin report.

I must add trail racing to my list of things to do - I started to like it on hols in a v hilly part of italy in the summer until I sprained my ankle .

debi I think it's been said on here before about the Dorney lake one being boring. I did listen but for me, it's nearer and I like the idea of it being a beginners one - less chance of me making an arse of myself. I will time myself next time I swim and report back and hope you Tri experts can advise on my un suitability (although probably won't get a non lesson swim in for a couple of weeks.... Actually then the pool will be closed for annual cleaning. Hmmmmm. )

great report running - really great - sorry about the empurpled toe though. Great, a heart rate running buddy! The rest of you had better watch out. Mmmm, roast duck. I miss Sunday roasts (am hoping to introduce them when dds are big enough).

I really think I need to hit some hills for my next year's plan. This is the first time that I've thought of my running in terms of ongoing plans - due in great part to the encouragement from all of you on here.

It sounds like it was a great day's running all round; due to DDs relentless dawdling (I know it sounds like a contradiction in terms, but really, that was how it was) on the way to and from the paper shop, it was almost dark when I got home. I ran about 35 miles last week, so an easy week will do no harm. Will go out and do 7 miles when I drop dd tomorrow. She wants someone to play with...

oh and yes rhet - my erstwhile secretary would frequently accuse me of being a worky ticket! The geordies are great, it has to be said. But it's hard to beat a word like "bockety". Brilliant!

Well done running, hope the toe is soon better. Poor you, but what a superwoman. I think I would have been putting my foot up and milking it . I tried to view your Garmin download but it told me I 'do not have sufficient privileges to view the activity' .

runners I'm using the smart coach for marathon training, based on my GNR time and average weekly mileage. The first couple of weeks the "speed" work seems easy, but it soon turns the ratchet.

I.e. this week I'm on 5 miles (2 miles at 9:24), but by week 6 it's 7 miles (3 miles at 9:18) and by week 14 it's 8 miles (4 miles 9:07) (for me the pips would be squeaking by then, but hopefully I'll be all trained for it :)). The LSRs are just that, so no timing on them.

What do yours look like further down the plan? And are the fast miles also accompanied by general mileage?

Running well done, good time and well done for not falling when you tripped. Hope the toe feeling better soon. Entertaining after a race now thats hardcore.
Well done on ds progress in potty training cherry
Well done jez looking forward to the report

runnerstipple I was confused too as even the speedwork seemed very slow? - but I'm no expert and have never really cracked speedwork. Need to get cracking though, as my hm is 14 weeks away.

runners when I did a HM plan on smart coach my recommended speed cane out about a minute slower than I usually do on all runs. And lots of easy runs (4 a week with 1 speed or tempo). I like the fact every 4 weeks it gives you an easier running week. I might incorporate that idea into my plan although tweak it so it falls in helpful weeks - like Christmas. But different things work for different people.

wheely I was looking at another plan (forget which now, there've been so many!) - which specifically said that it was giving an easy week every 4 weeks to reduce the risk of injury (and this approach had been scientifically proven; whether that was by the Laboratoire Garnier it didn't elucidate!)

sticky that sounds like Hal Higdon...

ps don't think DD2 is going to be born on this thread, either...

I just looked at that smartcoach too and also thought it all looked a bit easy. And very slow. I don't really see the point in going for a 2 mile run.
but I did like the easy week every 3 or 4 weeks where the milage drops, I didn't know that was allowed.

DH has just pissed me off by telling me the wrong facts about his mum's school and the strike, I then started a thread about it, then he told me the correct story.

Thanks for the feedback sticky, monkey and wheely.

The first speedwork comes in Wk2 (of a 15 week plan) and is:
Dist: 5mi, inc Warm; 2x1600@10:05 w/800 jogs; Cool

By week 6 it is:
Dist: 7mi, inc Warm; 3x1600@9:59 w/800 jogs; Cool

Week 14 is:
Dist: 10mi, inc Warm; 5x1600@9:47 w/800 jogs; Cool

I guess it is a case of sustaining that speed over the distances that helps. But I don't quite get how this translates into speed on the day. Is it simply that your body is used to going faster for longer? I can't quite get my head around the fact that the longest long run is 11 miles but at 11.58m/m, and how that translates to (ideally) 10 minute miles on the day.

Did you all follow the plan religiously?

It's brill reading about all the races here.

Very interested to hear that some people do do breast stroke in triathlons - I thought freestyle was a pre requisite so would rule me out ... I did the GN Swim earlier this year but did it breast stroke.

I had a fiddle with the Smart Coach and it just gave me things to do on Thursdays and Sundays and the rest as rest days (if only :)) even when I put in training hard for a marathon, dunno what I was doing wrong? Too tired now I think.

Have arranged to go to first running club tomorrow night.

well, I've not used it before! However, I have made it my own by adding in the park run. That way, I have the LSR, the longish run with speedy bits in it, the recovery run (around 5 - 8 miles) and the 5k park run to try and go as fast as possible on. That seems like a good combo to me!

oh yes, have also made "rest days" = "shred days". I'm not really one for following things religiously (says the lawyer!!)

ange that definitely sounds wrong. The "moderate" is 3 days per week.