Running goals, motivation and chat 2025

[Jumbojem]

All welcome! A place to share or goals and achievements and to motivate each other along the way.
A virtual mumsnet run club perhaps?

I have been on a half mara chat group the last few years but currently not training for one. So, my 2025 goals are:
Now until spring - get fitter for a 15 mile hilly trail run event in April.
Summer - try for a 5k PB, try to get faster?
Autumn - maybe do a half mara? Cross Country again ( I am slow and old but love this).

Who else wants to join me?

argh insects - on my cycle to the shops yesterday one got into my mouth that tasted absolutely vile

Yes! The bloody insects there’s so many more this year. I’m sure it’s a good thing for the eco system but it’s pretty unpleasant when running!

I did a long run last night which included a very long hill. I think all of the insects on the local area were waiting for me on that hill to try and fly into my mouth!! Very annoying!!

Dragged my weary limbs on a 5k early run Thursday I was yawning going out the door but the lovely blue sky helped. Did a quick post run Sea dip not so much swimming as leg icing as had to get back to log on for work and I can get too chilled sitting still after if I swim properly.

Eugh!

I got a tonsil fly the other day. Cue lots of undignified gagging and spluttering.

The other variation being when they get in your eye, get decapitated and it takes ages to get all body parts out...

I had nice wildlife today. There were little fluffy goslings swimming on the lake with mummy and daddy 😍

Love a good wildlife run (insects not included!). Shoes were fine and I even managed my sprint intervals this eve.
I have such restless legs now though, will have to try the magnesium cream before bed as they are driving me nuts just sat watching TV.

Hope you were able to calm the legs @Jumbojem

I had a lovely early 8k trail run after dropping of eldest at sports training. She’s learning to drive it will be so nice not to have to take her soon for training but I’ll probably still be wide awake after a few years of early weekend starts.

I've had a decent week of running - we were away on holiday so I had some new scenery for my mid-week runs, and some parkrun tourism yesterday. Back home for a long run today - 36 miles total run for the week and some good long walks too.

Inspired by @BogRollBOGOF I checked my VO2 max - in the top 25% for my age and gender and my fitness age is that of an excellent 20 year old <twirls>. I'm probably fitter now then when I was 20, as I was a smoker back then (a looooong time ago) and did no exercise apart from walking to and from lectures and the student union/pub.

@OhOneOhTwoOhThree that sounds like a good week of running! When is the ultra? Sounds like training is going well?
I would like to get back up to 20miles a week but I'm falling short so far. How long is your longest run in a week? I had aimed back in Jan to be comfortable doing an 8-10 Mile run once a week but the illness I had back in March has taken some getting back from. Finally starting to feel fitter.
Rainy weather coming back in the coming days I think, honestly I've forgotten what it's like to run or even be out in rain. If it means a run without fishing flies/greenfly out of my eyes/nose/mouth then I welcome it!

@Jumbojem the ultra is in July. My goal is to shave at least 10 minutes off last year’s time and to finish strong - I was seriously flagging by the end last year.

My long run last Sunday was 19 miles. I’m supposed to get up to marathon distance (and have a trail marathon booked as it fitted in with the training plan) but was chatting to a friend earlier who reckoned that I was spending too much time on my feet and should not be running more than 3 or 4 hours max as it would take too much out of me. My mid week runs are between 4 and 7 miles depending on where I am in the plan and my Saturday is usually parkrun plus however many extra miles I need to add on. I have kept up the yoga too so feeling quite strong now.

I’m glad to see that you are starting to feel better and recover some fitness. It’s such a pain that we work so hard to gain fitness and it is so easily lost.

Rain?! What’s that? 😄

I think rain is that weird noise I heard on the conservatory roof last night. My grass has grown an inch since yesterday morning. It was well timed for soaking into the ground before it could dry up.

I'm psyching up for 10mi. Pondering my strategy as I need it flat. A trip out to the canals could be tempting. I'm feeling more confident on my ankle than last week. My management strategies seem to be working other than my flip flops in the house rubbing the bony knob on the tops of my arches sore.
I wish someone could invent a shoe that is genuinely comfortable with no 'buts'!

I’m not impressed with this rain! I know we need it but was hoping to do a trail run later. Might have to go to the gym instead! Though a muddy trail run could be fun.

Hope your 10 mile run goes well @BogRollBOGOF there are no flat routes from my house unless I drive somewhere! I don’t mind too much but sometimes I’d like a flat route to see if I can improve my times for 5 or 10k.

I have to drive for flat. Fortunately not too far, but anything from home is undulating, or involves a finale of a big hill if I went further affield.

I'm trying to avoid hills at present to avoid stretching the achilles too far. Fortunately the event I have in mind is flat, so I don't need to train on hills at present.

It's definitely feeling calmer though. Two weeks ago I was getting the morning stiffness, general aching by evening and my heel feeling bruised if I was on my feet too long, and those symptoms are calming so hopefully I've intervened before it becomes a bigger issue.

Would it be a really bad idea to sign up for a trail half marathon when I have a road 10k the following weekend and a road half marathon two weeks after that?

I’ve seen a trail half I really fancy down at studland bay in Dorset and I very tempted to sign up but don’t know if it’s a terrible idea when I want to go for good times in my road races 😂.

I personally find a trail half takes more out of my legs than a road half - often they're hilly, the uneven surfaces activate your muscles more for balance and they can take two or more times longer to complete. If getting a PB in the road half was a big goal for me, I wouldn't be able to the trail half two weeks before. We're all different though.

Yeah, I am a bit worried about doing myself in and then not being able to do well in the other races. I also do have a bit of a dodgy knee at the moment. It just looks really nice 😂.

it’s probably sensible not to. Let’s see if the sensible or the stupid side of me wins out over the next few days 😂.

@Whataninterestinglookingpotato Sounds sensible not to do it, fun as it might be, there's always next year! My running partner fell in a trail race, didn't seem too bad beyond bruising at the time but she did some long term damage to her knee and has been out of action for months now.
I have new road shoes now (novablast 4), new shorts and top (sweaty Betty sale) and ordered new balance hierro 8 trail shoes which were half price to wear as hiking/holiday run shoes. Its been costly but I have no excuses now not to run! Just the pain of a new running bra now, they are so expensive and so hard to get the right one when you are more booby. All my current ones chafe if I run more than 10k or so, worse now its warm and I sweat more.
@BogRollBOGOF glad you nipped the ankle issue in the bud!
@ohoneohtwoohthree good to hear you are keeping up with the yoga, I definitely think it helps keep my niggles at bay. Not stronger yet though, it actually makes me realise how weak my upper body is and I need to start doing a bit of strength training. But there's only so much time in a day, isn't there?!

@Jumbojem yes to the sports bra chafing - doubly so when I wear my water bladder backpack. I hate it when you get in the shower and the water finds a bit you didn't know was sore. I am just doing the YWA calendar, mostly in order but with the odd swap e.g. if I need a short practice.

I think @Whataninterestinglookingpotato you have made the right decision. A bit like @Jumbojem's friend I fell on a muddy trail run and damaged my shoulder (I slipped backwards, put out my arm and all my weight went through my shoulder). I was signed up to run a HM with DS1 a week or two later, which I went ahead with. As I was running awkwardly to protect the shoulder, I injured my leg on the other side of my body. This was years ago now but I have never properly recovered.

I had a good 6 miles along the river last night. I only caught one fly and managed to splutter it out.

I first upset my achilles in 2021 during the autumn where all my races for 2020/21 were postponed into one block and I was racing every other week. Really frustrating as I ended up smashing a HM pb, but it turned out to be too much load for my tendon even though I was careful about recovery/ taper milage between races.

If you took the trail as a training run and took it really easy, you could pull it off, but racing it would be a lot of load to recover from.

I wasn’t feeling it this morning but after walking the dog I remembered it was low tide so I nipped down after dropping of dd for college &had a lovely 5k run along the beach and back. Weather was perfect first thing. It’s got humid now and very windy so I’m glad I pushed through my flagging energy first thing. Hope you all enjoy a good weekend of running

I did a 6.5 mile road run this am, very warm but I am leaning into running in the heat more as we're likely going somewhere hotter than usual this summer (although currently weather is a topsy turvy N Vs S Europe). It was a lovely run, felt strong but still taking a walk break every mile. Stopped for an espresso and delish donut, forgot the little supermarket gets a donut delivery from a local bakery on Friday. So much for the trying to loose a bit of weight though...

I've had a rather 'meh' two weeks of running, think I overdid it the other weekend and my legs seemed to forget how to move with forward momentum. All my runs have been 'easy' since then! However I surprised myself with a really good run out at parkrun this morning, consistent pacing, negative splits and only 1 minute-ish off my PB. Think the weather helped too, I prefer a few puddles to run through!
Like the idea of stopping for a donut on a run @Jumbojem😄

I'm at a loose end now that the marathonnis out the way. Doing a 10Kish race in a few weeks time, so I'm just keeping things ticking over.

parkrun for my tempo run today, but I seem to hovering around the 22:30ish mark. I don't like running 5k and prefer longer distances but I'd still like to be able to get faster!

Weather was warm and humid today and I think I run better when it's more like 7°C instead.

Hello, can I join? After a few (brief) flirtations with running in the dim and distant past, I got progressively fatter and less fit over the last 10 years or so, but in the last year have given up smoking and lost 5 stone and just getting towards the end of C25K, I did 20 mins this morning. I’m doing it slowly though, I have two different apps on the go and I’m doing most of the runs from both of them, I’m a bit paranoid about getting injured because I enjoy it so much.

I was thinking today about what to do after C25K and think the ultimate goal would be the Lundy Island race that a PP mentioned, summer 26. And my local HM would be soon after, autumn 26. I think those would both be amazing. Before then I like the look of events where there is a time limit and you go round a 5K-ish lap as many times as you like, does anyone do these? (Obvs all a bit pie in the sky and perhaps a bit deluded optimistic to be considering half marathon distance when right now I’m running approximately 2 miles 😅). I can dream though and if it turns out 5k suits me best then that’s fine. Either way this thread is super inspiring for a newbie / wannabe distance runner.

welcome @NormaMajors1992coat

I'm a lockdown c25k graduate and just run regularly. up to 10k.
I just like running, out in nature, on the beach, through the forest, up and down hills...
I have an awesome 10k route that has all of it, including free range longhorns that are magnificent beasts.
would love to do more, but can't really fit in more during the week. plus I'm injury prone if I increase too fast.

Welcome @NormaMajors1992coat no harm in having a goal and most of us probably started with couch to 5k. I can remember thinking a half marathon seem a completely unachievable distance and now it’s not daunting at all. I have my first proper one at the end of June and I’m looking forward to it. I often run 10 miles just for fun these days. Keep going, you’ll get there!
I’m going to sign up to an 18 mile trail race in September and aim for a marathon next year!

@xsquared your 5k time is impressive! I finally got under 25 mins this week. Pleased with my 24:47! Now aiming to get my 10k under 50 minutes. Got a 10k race in June which is pretty flat so hoping I’ll do it then. My current fastest is 50:50.