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What's your aim for 2008?

Mine is to enjoy running for the whole of 10k rather than just the middle 20 minutes - and it would be great to do the distance in under an hour but I'm not overly hopeful in that respect

cb you really are small - I;m the same height as you and a stone heavier and not exactly large. has to be said I was hoping to loose just a few pounds but they're not really coming off - I know I'm burning the calories but I'm eating them too - my appetite is huge. I keep saying to myself that all I need to do is cut out the chocolate, but then I feel I deserve it!

Ormirian - of course your running is serious - just remind yourself that most people couldn't even run for a bus without getting out of puff and give yourself a gold star for achievement.

I did my 5 miles on Saturday and really enjoyed it. Still no real sign of pregnancy symptoms other than the pervasive 'taste in mouth' thing that I always get at this point. So just making the most of feeling fit and healthy really.

hello everyone. never made it to the running shop. and now won;t for a couple of weeks...

pleased with myself this morning - I did 4.4 miles at a 9m 20 pace - which is about as fast as I've ever run. feeling it now though!

Anyone advise me on stretches/exercises to strengthen inner thigh muscle at top of leg? It keeps niggling when I run - yesterday I did 4 miles, walking 10 mins and then running 10 which helped but its not going away so far. I already go to the gym so have access to machines/space, etc.
Thanks

I saw a physio today who diagnosed plantar fasciitis, and advised me to not do any running for atleast 2 months. I kind of suspected it was this, having done lots of internet research into my symptoms. So now there is nothing I can do but wait, tape up my foot and do my stretching exercises. Feeling disappointed but happy in a way to have an official diagnosis. She also told me that I overpronated quite severely and should look into getting orthotics made, where as the bloke who did my running gait analysis a couple of weeks ago told me I was a neutral runner with no pronation. I'm incline to believe the qualifed physio ( who is a runner too ) over him.

celery - how frustrating - I had a foot injury after the marathon and you need to be really careful not to run too soon on it. Apparently foot problems are often slow to heal, so be patient.

I did my 5 miles with my club last night and really enjoyed it. Hoping to get out at lunchtime today for a 4-5, but things looking rather busy at work, so let's see if I can escape the office!

Well done Pidge, you're doing great!

Yes, Hatwoman, I am pretty tiny - have a very small frame though. I eat loads - most people are astounded at what I can pack away given my size, but I don't really put it on especially when I'm training seriously.

It was an issue when I was pregnant as the hospital couldn't seem to get their head around the fact that I'm athletic, not a closet anorexic, and sent me to see the hospital dietician because of 'concerns' about my relatively low BMI. Had to keep a food diary for a week - dietician was actually quite amused and said that if everyone ate as well as I do she would be out of a job! She wrote a report to the consultant to say there was nothing wrong with my diet/eating habits and they left it alone after that. I was insulted that they made me go through the process as although very petite I am not skinny.

Celery, one good exercise for PF is to roll your foot around over a golf or tennis ball - this can be done while you're sitting watching TV or at your desk at work - anywhere really! Bummer that you've been signed off - hope it heals quickly.

OrmIrian, anyone who gets out there and runs regularly is a 'serious' runner in my book - you don't have to be training for a marathon (or anything else, for that matter). 99% of the population couldn't run to the end of the street so be proud of what you can do!

Had a pretty horrible 18-miler on Sunday. I paced it badly and struggled in the last 4 miles. I've also managed to strain my right hamstring (not severely, but it's stiff and tight) and it kept tightening so I had to stop a few times to stretch it out. Ran a few of the middle miles much too fast and paid for it by the end - actually had to throw up when I got back home. Not good! I don't think I was dehydrated but there were a lot of energy-sapping hills which would have been OK had I not overdone the pace earlier on. Will try to learn my lesson - looking at my training log, all my runs are done at a reasonably comfortable pace except the long runs, which are invariably too fast!

Thanks for that hugely cheering vote of confidence currantbun. I missed my lunchtime run yesterday which would have been in glorious sunshine, but work just was mad so I couldn't make it. Work continued to be mad today, but I was determined, so went out, and it was quite literally pelting down, there was a howling gale, and it was freezing cold. I got drenched to the skin within minutes and could hardly see where I was going and was utterly miserable, but am v. proud of myself as I stuck it out and soldiered through my 4.5 miles.

Definitely one of the worst runs I've ever done!

But it's done, and my next one is probably not till Sunday.

Just beginning to feel sick particularly in the evenings so not sure how much longer I'll keep this up, but every week counts!

Well done for that sterling effort, Pidge!

I have to say I continued to run even when I was going through the early pregnancy nausea. It may not have been a great idea, but it was the only time I felt halfway normal and with my body in turmoil, it was something I felt I could hang on to to remind me of who I used to be! I cut the distance considerably though - think I was only doing about 3 miles at a time, but it was 30 degrees as well which didn't help! Once the sickness passed and the weather cooled down, I managed up to 6 miles at a time for quite a few more weeks.

Planning 15 miles for Sunday - but having looked at the forecast, I may do my long run tomorrow as I think it's going to be the better day of the two.

Only posting because it's in active convos.

I think I'll have to bow out for a few months as my sciatica is flaring up every time I walk a mile, let along anything more substantial. It's frustrating and disappointing because I really wanted to keep fast-walking my 5ks until the end of pregnancy but hey-ho.

Good luck with all your races. Hope to be back by the autumn !

well done pidgr, you're doing better than me with keeping going. I didn't go out at all last week and then only once this week. Found it quite hard going actually even though we only did about 4 miles. I was feeling really tired (only pg symptom I've got) but did feel a bit better for going out. Also I'm concious of the fact that as soon as I don't go for a couple of weeks I'll really struggle to get going again I think.

Duchess - what a shame - hope it all clears up with the arrival of the baby - and roll on your return in the autumn!

Debi - I'm discovering my stubborn streak! Hoping to get out for a gentle 3-4 miler tomorrow morning if I can. At the moment it's only the evenings when I'm feeling sick (chewing on a dry biscuit right now!), plus like you I'm exhausted and in bed by 9pm.

CB - how did the 15 miler go? Hopefully less ghastly than your 18 miler last week?!

Hi all, so many pregnancies and congratulations

I have to do 6 miles today in deep snow, that will be tough!

Totally feebled out of my run today - have felt really sick for the first time all day, and the thought of jogging up and down is too ghastly!

Might see if I feel up to it tomorrow.

Wallace - deep snow sounds very, very hard work! Did you really go out in it?!

Poor pidge - I don't envy that pg sickness xx

Luckily it had thawed al ot by the time I went out, only a couple of inches left. It was really slushy and slippery and hard work to run in - I'm sure I was using different muscles to usual

The nausea has been much more manageable for the last two days. Trouble is it's awful in the evenings, which is when I usually run. At the moment I'm in bed by 8.30pm most nights!

Anyway, today I'm working from home, so squeezed in a 45 minute run before starting work (and then sloping off here!!!). And it felt great.

Well done Pidge, it's really hard when you're feeling nauseous. I usually found a run helped with the queasiness, although getting out the door was hard work at the time. I did actually vomit mid-run a couple of times Luckily it was summer and I was running through the park - I don't think I'd have been very popular if I'd had to hurl on the pavement or in someone's front garden!

15-miler on Sunday went quite well - better than the previous week's 18. It was extremely windy and the run was rather undulating, but I paced it better and still had some fuel in the tank at the end. I have my first 20-miler of this marathon build-up at the weekend - deep joy. I can definitely feel my strength and fitness improving: only a few weeks ago I found a 9-mile long run tough - last night I ran 9 miles as a midweek run and breezed through it (wishing the whole way I'd worn my gloves as my hands were freezing!)

So feeling a lot more positive about my training now. Onwards and upwards!

Hello, all your stories are very inspiring. Currantbun I am in awe of you. I dream of the day when I can manage over ten miles! At the moment I can do 4 miles easy peasy and did do a 10 k for the first time, but it was agony! I've run on and off for a few years but never really pushed myself out of my comfort zone of about 5 miles. Hat off to Pidge too - running when pg and feeling sick - I stopped running for both of my pg's and therefore found it hard to start again.

Anyway I am rambling as I have a question for you - will I do myself harm by running tonight with the end of a cold? I've had it for a week and not run at all in that time. I'm desperate to get out there but am still snotty with a slight cough. What do you think?

Sorry if this has been brought up already. But how do you know what distance you are running? I have a few regular routes that I know roughly the distance but when I extend or vary them I don't know. Atm I am using a piece of string and a map which is fiddly and not that accurate. Years ago dad used to have a little wheel thing that you could run along a map to find out distances. Not sure if you can get those now. Don't want to invest in anything expensive and gadgety if I can help it.

mavis - I would give it a go but be prepared to stop if you start to cough too much or feel bad. I had a chest infection before christmas and I'm still not 100% but if I waited until I was I'd never get back to it.

Thanks OrmIrian I will try or like you say I will never get back to it. Had just got to 6 miles too!

I use Mapmyrun.com to measure my distances, its helpful but a bit fiddly or that might just be me!

Thanks mavis. Had a look but it is definitely a bit fiddly So not just you. I've found a map measurer that I think I will invest in. Have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not running anything like as far as I thought

I would love a map measurer - do you have a link?

I try to run mostly by time. For example the schedule I'm doing at the moment says to "run 6 miles at 12mins30 per mile" so I ran for 1hr15mins. Which - if it hadn't been for the snow - would have actually been a bit more than 6 miles.

Mapmyrun is good, but most of the woodland/moorland tracks on which I run are not on it!

meant to say would have nbeen more than six miles because mostly my pace is (a bit) faster than 12:30

THere was another link on here somewhere for a distance measurer. I think you had to pay £10 a year to use it. i'll see if I can find the name.

You could also try a pedometer, not sure how accurate they are when you are running. I used to drive round my routes, but obviously a bit tricky if you go off road!! I have to say I am slightly obsessed by distance and my times - I just HAVE to know how far I've been - most odd.