Running Thread 16

[emummy]

New thread needed! All runners welcome, whatever your pace or distance.
Cold icy run for me this morning, couple of exciting sliding episodes! Not a fan of the ice...

332.2

Recovery 5km run this evening. Still so hot and muggy - looking forward to colder weather!

Almost decided on my next runs to enter which will be the Run Taupo series - two 21kms and 43km in July, August and September. My running buddy has a friend with a holiday home in Taupo so will save on accommodation at least. I need to have something to train for otherwise I just can't seem to get the motivation!

Also trying to give up on my evening wine but struggling with that!

Love the sound of your run spudlet - miss the british wildlife!

836.7

Early morning 5 miles and didn’t fall in the burn when crossing this morning.

Toomanynotes those are some impressive targets. I was hoping to do the Edinburgh 1/2 marathon this year but I think it will be cancelled again. I like to have something to aim towards.

841.7

Hi, I'd love to join in with this thread if that's OK, but please let me know if there's one somewhere that is a better fit for what I do.

Basically I can just about run 10K (and am hoping to take part in an official 10K in the autumn, although it's already been postponed 3 times) but usually run about 5K two or three times a week. I recently read about someone who aims to do a 10K distance at least once a month, which sounded like a good idea for me - I got my January 10K in just in time and it looks as if the same will happen with my February one! I get a bit bored with my usual route, and the 10K one is much more interesting, but because I'm slow (about 1hr 25min for 10K) it takes a bit of planning to fit it in more often!

I've been thinking about ways to mix it up a bit and maybe work on speed (hill sprints, fartlek etc) - I wondered if anyone here has any tips on these. I am quite heavy (but working on that too) and I'm sure that affects my speed, but if there's anything else I could be doing, I'm willing to give it a try in the meantime. What about exercises that I could do at home? It's not that I want to run competitively and break records, but if I was faster, I could run further in the available time...

When it's lighter and warmer in the evenings I might also run home from work sometimes - it's just over 5K, but hillier and more interesting than my usual route and might be another good way of adding some variety.

Welcome @VanillaAndOrange! All types of runners and running are welcome here.
I would definitely recommend mixing things up a bit - it makes it less boring and it also improves your running.
I usually do 1 “speed” session a week - inverted commas because I’m not very fast! So intervals - maybe a 10 minute warm up jog, then 4x 3 minutes faster with 1 minute jog between each one, then a 10 minute cool down jog at the end.
Or fartlek, which is less structured- warm up the faster run say to the next tree, then jog/walk till recovered, then a faster bit again, repeat as often as you want.
Hills are the same, just you push hard up the hill - the shorter it is the harder you push - then the recovery is the jog or walk back down. I would start with 3-5 and add one on every 2 sessions, roughly. I tend to alternate between hill sprints & intervals, so don’t get too knackered! Plus all my routes are hilly anyway...
Exercises at home are a good plan - maybe start with strength training like squats and lunges and stuff for your core & glutes. Just whatever you can fit in - I do 15 to 20 minute sessions on my non-running mornings, am rubbish at exercising at night!
Hope your race in the autumn goes ahead, we’re all crossing our fingers for some actual events this year!

emummy thanks! Do you do your speed work on the roads? If so, does anybody ever ask what you're doing, or just look as if they think you're acting strangely? The last time I did anything like that regularly I was at university and able to do it on the playing fields, where everybody was doing something sporty!

I mean pavements, obviously, not literally in the middle of the road!

No, don’t usually get any attention- You think people generally notice a lot less than we think! It’s a bit weird if I pass another runner during a fast interval then they catch me when I’m walking
! To be honest, I stick on a podcast and just focus on me; on a podcast the host once said “other people’s opinions are none of your business” - it’s become one of my favourite sayings.

Welcome @VanillaAndOrange

Hilly 6 mile route today after work today. Lots of primroses and snowdrops out at the moment.

847.7

Hi @VanillaAndOrange you sound like me with my running. Most of mine are around 5-7km but a longer one every now and again but only around 10-12km. I’m trying to increase my mileage slowly 😀 I like the idea of the monthly strava 10km challenge

Annoy you sound like a good role model for me as you are just doing slightly more than me, but not so much it feels completely out of reach!

5.5miles, headed out at 05:25 and it was a full blown struggle. Dont know what it was, my bod wasnt giving me 6miles. Just couldn't do it. I hate those days...maybe its because I've not done my running so early for a few weeks?

833.5

I was not in the zone either this morning @Borisjohnsonshairbrush. I stayed up late doing nothing in particular so think I was tired. However, proud of myself for getting out for a short lap of the park even though I would rather have stayed in bed. Nearly at my Miles for Mind target 50 miles - now only a parkruns worth to do

835.7

Some days are just a slog aren’t they! Well done for getting out - and well done @CalmConfident on being so close to your target.
Intervals for me this morning, missed the rain, felt ok. Now to work, sigh.

840.4

Very fast 2 miles with my DD last night. It felt good going at full speed knowing we were going to stop after 2 miles.
Very wet 4.5 miles this morning, not very pleasant and got cold.

Borosjohnsonshairbursh I think we all get days when our body doesn’t work properly. My theory is once I’m out I might feel better, usually doesn’t work.

VanillaAndOrange welcome

846.9

Lovely weather here today. Spring has happened I think. Felt really good today after a rest day yesterday. Maybe you need a rest day @Borisjohnsonshairbrush?

Welcome @VanillaAndOrange - I do intervals on the country lanes. I don’t care if people wonder what I’m doing - mostly they seem to ignore it tbh. I just don’t like it if I’m constantly passing people and then they pass me back in my recovery period. It makes me feel a bit silly. I have hill reps tomorrow - I always dread them but love them when they’re over!

852.3

4 miles this morning, a bit nippy, but some lovely spring sunshine.

I was pleased with my pace of 5.34km/h.

892.3

3 miles for me today, taking it slow. I’ve tweaked my wonky ankle again (think it was sprinting down a hill after DS in my wellies but he was really picking up speed on his bike and he’s a bit iffy with the brakes...) but it was mostly ok while I was running, apart from on a slightly uphill bit. Going to keep it moving and tape it, and hope for the best 😬

Anyway it was a good chance to practice running at what I’d like to be my marathon pace. I’m in no way speedy but I struggle to get my pace down for longer runs and often set off too quickly and end up walking a bit, so it was good to practice.

895.5

8 miles of intervals in the wind. So good with it being lighter in the evening that I can get more miles in after work. Never really thought too much about what others are thinking of my interval sessions. I did overtake a bike going up a hill whilst doing hill repeats once and then turned round to go down easy and he asked me what on earth I was doing.

903.5

Also another 8 miles. Gentle road ones as my glutes are screaming from a 45 min Hiit yesterday (warm up and cool down made the session an hour)

911.6

Until last week I had 6 pairs ASICS, two have now been retired.

I was doing hill reps one time (in the dark) and someone was walking up and down the hill - I couldn’t decide if they were odd, they thought I was odd or I was wrong for judging.

I tend to do intervals back and fro now, but often because I’m then I can hit the Mark set by the first one (or exceed it towards the end).

I was pleased with my pace of 5.34km/h.

I've realised this can't be right, I run 11ish km in an hour, so not sure what this pace actually means but it was 5.34 anyway! 😂

Probably means that’s how many minutes it took you do a km? I think?

Welcome VanillaAndOrange everybody definitely most welcome on here.
Amaura I don’t feel quite so bad about my number of running shoes now
Definite slog day yesterday. The wind felt in my face the whole time and I just couldn’t get in to my stride. I didn’t even manage 3 miles and felt I’d had enough.
914.4

Morning all - a gentle 5km along a beautifully empty beach whilst the sun came up today. Such a treat.

My knee seems ot be improving - icing it every night and after a run is helping, but I'm seeing a physio on Tues just for some tips.

917.4

I tried a route I hadn’t done for a while to check out the mud situation and it was very very muddy. Crept along the side of the paths trying to avoid mud. Will need to wait until the ground dries up before I go back. The problem is the paths are through woods which are used by horse riders and mountain bikers so is churned up very easily.

50FootWave your morning run sounds lovely. Hope it hasn’t aggravated your knee.

923.6