Edinburgh 2014 - chasing the hairy haggis

[Mitchy1nge]

thread for anyone training for the full marathon or the half or any of the other events

it's my first marathon so am very excited, I know that in theory if I can do 21 miles then 26 (plus 385 yards) is achievable but only started running again a few months ago, it's so much more addictive than it used to be

it's ok, it's a good opportunity to learn how to swim again (I can sort of swim but am terrified of deep water) which might help retain a bit of my fitness (I bet it dwindles away really quickly? ) so will do that tomorrow afternoon with a friend (not in her pool though, it has a diving pit that is so illegally deep I feel like I'm going to die just thinking about it)

hope new insoles are comfortable today :)

I'm here!! Hoping for a speedy recovery for you mitchy! 3 miles today and 12 tomorrow for me. Slightly nervous about the 12 but sure it'll be fine...

how was it louwn? hope you enjoyed it despite feeling so envious and sorry for myself (and cross with myself, it was all getting so much better and I spent just a few hours dancing on Saturday night and now I can hardly walk, in fact the other calf is joining in now)

am not even sure how to explain that one to the physio

I did about 12.5 and it was tiring but ok! Slowed down quite a lot at the end but guess that was to be expected. What are you doing at the moment, still complete rest or some short runs?

well done :)

wonder if I will ever catch up again? I am not running at all, can't even walk normally, but will swim again today. physio not until next week but maybe she can see me earlier - gloomy

Hi everyone

Louwn -I'm impressed by the mileage you are doing already, you must be on track with your training programme.

Mitchy -I sorry to hear about your leg,that must be so frustrating. And the not walking properly bit must be difficult :-(

I'm still increasing my distance by the official 10% per week , but I'm still only up to 44km ( 27 miles for you older pre decimal peeps ) .

The new insole in the New shoes made no difference ( waste of bloody £20) so I have gone back to my old shoes , ( which apparently are the wrong type for me ) and the pain is nearly gone completely .

I have also changed my running bra from a shock absorber run bra to an ennell and this has reduced the pain I was getting in my upper back between my shoulders. I didn't realise that the pain was bra related at all < stupid> .

So in general I'm feeling reasonably positive and hoping to be able to stay injury free and build my distance a bit before starting training in mid February

I'd love to hear from the rest of you hairy haggis chasers ....

I am still here! Just lying low after hurting my back (not running related) - not run for 8 days :(
Am hoping to be back in my trainers next week. My new (to me) Garmin has just arrived so am dying to try it out.
kristinaM Intresting about your bra I have a shock absorber and get back pain which I thought was from other things but may have to investigate the ennell.

Sorry to hear about the sore back kaff.

My back pain was high up, right between my shoulder blades. In the area you can reach if you put your had behind your neck, if that makes sense. I knew it got worse when I ran a lot but I thought it was just caused by the running itself, IYSWIM. I had to take a coupe of painkillers and go and see the fierce masseuse at the gym once a week.

I just decided to try the ennell bra to see if it gave better support to my 30G norks . I was a bit skeptical and put off because it looks like something your granny would wear. Goodness know why , I run in Aldis finest high vis gear, a wooly hat and mud covered trainers and see no one but farmers, dog walkers, cyclists and sheep. It's not like I'm prancing through the park in matching sweaty Betty designer gear and a full face of slap .

The disappearance of the back pain was a wonderful suprise .fingers crossed it stays away.

As I read my posts I feel I have turned into my granny, always moaning about my aches and pains

Sorry, pressed post too soon. Which garmin did you get? You know you can set it up on your computers and it can generate all sorts of graphics and maps for you?

I don't use this much as I run the same routes most of the time but if you are geeky you will love it

Hi Kristina

I am probably only doing the same weekly mileage as you, and I'm doing the full! I am following a beginners marathon training programme. Next week is 30 miles. You will be amazingly well prepared for the half! Next sunday I will be running 15 miles, will be the furthest I've ever run.

Louwn -I am quite old and not that experienced so I have to build up my distance very slowly. The plan is to get it up by mid February, then drop it down and do more speed work when I start on the proper half marathon training programme. That's the theory anyway :-)

It's different with the half as I know I could get round ( well not today but after a bit more training ) but I'd like to get a decent time ( for an old dear ) . Whereas the marathon is a serious challenge I don't think I'd ever take on .

What made you decide to go for it?

Did you find a half to do next month?

I got an older model the 205, it was an ebay bargain. Didnt want to soent too much, hopefully will set up the geeky side this week. Am hoping it will push me on a bit as I am soooooo slow.

My phone has started to struggle with playing my music and running the GPS if it is not fully charger. I am trying to experiment and run in different places now I am a "proper" runner :) especially as my usual run is the end of the last couple of miles of the marathon course!

Hoping to get back out running this week and will pay myself £1 a mile towards a new sports bra !

Ha, you live at the seaside! I bet you have been blown away these last few days .do you do the Cramond park run, you must be very close

It was sleeting here yesterday so I didn't go out at all. The long run that everyone else seems to do on Sundays, I do on Mondays as it works out better with the kids/work etc

My phone is on its last legs, I only use it for playing podcasts when I run and my garmin does the pace /distance /time thing.

I like your idea of paying yourself per mile :-) . Though I have already spent more that I have ever run

Just back from my " long run" , though at 9 miles it's just a warm up for the rest of you. And I hardly got rained on at all, juts a little drizzle. Amazing!

I am still here on and off. Sorry to hear your leg is still playing up mitchy. It sounded as if you were well ahead of schedule in terms of the mileage you were doing so hopefully a spell of not running won't do too much harm to your training. Frustrating though isn't it? Long run of 13 miles for me later this week....

< waves > to brainwashed

hello, good to hear it's all going well

yes that will teach me to do too much too soon! (actually thought I was being very careful) but physio today, I suppose can either let it take as long as it takes and then start running again and hope I get round the course or I find a way of running with it (it's not as if the pain is excruciating, it's just always there and so it's annoying) and then take lots of time off - but this sounds a bit stupid even to me, as it can probably only get worse?

although people do run with these sorts of problems, it's not an uncommon injury. I dunno

hope your back is better kaffeine

I guess it depends if you could cope in your everyday life if it got really bad. I'd never take that risk because I need to be able to drive and walk up stairs in the house, I have young kids and my Dp works away. So life would grind to a halt if I couldn't get about . It would be even worse if I'd done it through my own stupidity and not through something I couldn't help , like an accident.

But maybe if I lived in a flat above the shop and could work from home or use public transport or had no dependents etc I might make different choices and push it a bit.

Does that make sense?

I suppose you'd have to adapt your life if your mobility was seriously restricted for any length of time, if I could still ride a horse and drive a car that wouldn't be too bad but my children are mostly adults and even the 14 year old can drive quite well (off the road obviously )

am not sure it would come to that, it's probably a small risk

LOL at your driving 14yo !

I like the thought of your turning up on horseback to do your weekly shop

my horses have made a few trips to the co-op in their time

I have achieved a few kms on a treadmill :) am incredibly pleased - quite fast for me at just over 6 minutes per km too (but hardly any incline so that must have helped)

think I might start running outside next week

Well done mitchy, you must be pleased.

Just remember to < whispers > take it easy next week

Great mitchy!
I ran 13.1 miles this morning including about 2 miles of the marathon course. Feel broken now though but that probably has as much to do with yesterday's cross fit session as anything else!

Well done! I can't wait to do the longer runs again, am feeling very optimistic. Did 7 treadmill miles over the weekend and calf feels fine.

It's Day One of all the Edinburgh plans today, had already been to gym and rowed 5km before I realised it starts with a rest day. Slow Joggers tomorrow so can start logging miles again I hope. Will have a look at the training plans and serif any of them start at a low enough volume for me. Then devote all of the rest of my time to Care of The Soleus and Gastroc-something Muscles :)