Official Running Thread

[Greg Bobkin]

You were looking good for someone who'd cycled up Dyke Road and gone over Ditchling Beacon the short and sharp way. After one week trying to mix in cross training for a baby Tri. I'm knackered. Thighs struggling to find their muscle memory. The kick in swimming gave me DOMS and 36 miles on the bike took all energy out of my legs for running this weekend and no training energy for intervals last Tuesday.
So flat shorter bike rides this week and easy Parkrun. I need to get ready for a fairly good effort at the Worthing 10k on Sunday.

Will do a Weakest Link Relay call to arms next week.

It is knackering. I've realised that I've never properly trained for the tris I've done before. A token swim and a few miles on the bike here and there to supplement my go-to exercise of running. Now doing each discipline three times a week (and only getting one rest day), I realise the difference it makes. A month ago, I struggled with 20 miles on the bike and swimming full stop. This weekend I did double that on the bike (and could've carried on) and swam 1,700m (and ALSO felt like I could carry on). I'm not saying the ironman will be straightforward, but I'm sure I'll be ready for it!

 

[knocky1]

It is knackering. I've realised that I've never properly trained for the tris I've done before. A token swim and a few miles on the bike here and there to supplement my go-to exercise of running. Now doing each discipline three times a week (and only getting one rest day), I realise the difference it makes. A month ago, I struggled with 20 miles on the bike and swimming full stop. This weekend I did double that on the bike (and could've carried on) and swam 1,700m (and ALSO felt like I could carry on). I'm not saying the ironman will be straightforward, but I'm sure I'll be ready for it!

I'm expecting it to get easier but no way could I do the DISTANCE you're doing. I covered my cycling distance first and then second day out.
I realise that my running has to go on the back burner. Hard when I'm 13 seconds away from fastest 5k since 2009 (20:19 set 2 years ago) but all part of a strength plan to find 32 seconds to aim at that 20:00 mark.

Enjoying the pain! Thanks to all NSC runners for giving me the motivation.

 

[penny's harmonica]

It is knackering. I've realised that I've never properly trained for the tris I've done before. A token swim and a few miles on the bike here and there to supplement my go-to exercise of running. Now doing each discipline three times a week (and only getting one rest day), I realise the difference it makes. A month ago, I struggled with 20 miles on the bike and swimming full stop. This weekend I did double that on the bike (and could've carried on) and swam 1,700m (and ALSO felt like I could carry on). I'm not saying the ironman will be straightforward, but I'm sure I'll be ready for it!

I’ve been trying to stick to 2 rides, 2 runs and 3 swims a week. My swimming is by far my weakest discipline but I have seen massive improvements in the 4 weeks I’ve been training. I barely managed 8 lengths first time and now up to 34 and feel like I could do more. My front crawl is the same pace as most others breast stroke but its confidence building for me as never really been comfortable in water. I’ve also been trying to take the bike if an opportunity arises even if only for 3 miles and have combined that into some brick sessions to get the legs used to the change over. I completely agree it’s exhausting and I’m like knocky only doing the baby But very interested to follow your path to the iron man as it’s something I’d like to think I might try.

 

[big nuts]

With a new Park Run in Lancing imminent, I’ve just read that East Brighton Park will host yet another Sussex Park Run. Great to have so much choice and variety out there.

 

[Badger]

With a new Park Run in Lancing imminent, I’ve just read that East Brighton Park will host yet another Sussex Park Run. Great to have so much choice and variety out there.

There seem to be hundreds of these park runs around. I hope to get along to one when I'm in Sussex next month. Sadly I'm going to miss the Weakest Link race though, as I'll be in Croatia for a few days. Who schedules a race on a Wednesday?!

Meanwhile, I'm taking part in my first event since the marathon this Friday/Saturday. Ragnar Relay Niagara, starting in Cobourg and finishing right by Niagara Falls. There's about 200 teams of 12 (or 6 for the ultra teams) taking part, so it's going to be great fun.

 

[Seaford by the sea]

With a new Park Run in Lancing imminent, I’ve just read that East Brighton Park will host yet another Sussex Park Run. Great to have so much choice and variety out there.

Seaford parkrun is very close as well. Sorting out the final funding then testing out the course flat out and back along seafront

 

[Seaford by the sea]

Still awaiting race report from Complete Badger on Edinburgh marathon. I happen to be in Edinburgh right now for a family break and will trot out for a little run first tomorrow morning. Seems pretty damn hilly round here to me, so guessing the marathon was tough yesterday

 

[knocky1]

With a new Park Run in Lancing imminent, I’ve just read that East Brighton Park will host yet another Sussex Park Run. Great to have so much choice and variety out there.

Seaford parkrun is very close as well. Sorting out the final funding then testing out the course flat out and back along seafront

Remember to post the inaugural one on here. We like a day out.

 

[knocky1]

There seem to be hundreds of these park runs around. I hope to get along to one when I'm in Sussex next month. Sadly I'm going to miss the Weakest Link race though, as I'll be in Croatia for a few days. Who schedules a race on a Wednesday?!

Meanwhile, I'm taking part in my first event since the marathon this Friday/Saturday. Ragnar Relay Niagara, starting in Cobourg and finishing right by Niagara Falls. There's about 200 teams of 12 (or 6 for the ultra teams) taking part, so it's going to be great fun.

Enjoy Ragnar and be good to see you at a Parkrun next month. Maybe get [MENTION=13836]deletebeepbeepbeep[/MENTION] [MENTION=18183]big nuts[/MENTION] [MENTION=13055]Ninja Elephant[/MENTION] and us hangers on to check you out.

 

[big nuts]

Remember to post the inaugural one on here. We like a day out.

Yes, very much enjoyed Worthing Saturday. My 4th venue (all in Sussex) and would like to get around a lot more in the future. Saturday July 8th I've got a completely free Saturday so I'm planning to run Bevendean that day if anyone wants to join me for a post race fry up? That is of course it isn't the debut run for Seaford or Lancing.

 

[knocky1]

Yes, very much enjoyed Worthing Saturday. My 4th venue (all in Sussex) and would like to get around a lot more in the future. Saturday July 8th I've got a completely free Saturday so I'm planning to run Bevendean that day if anyone wants to join me for a post race fry up? That is of course it isn't the debut run for Seaford or Lancing.

Pencilled in a day out.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I'm not surprised at all [MENTION=4417]The Complete Badger[/MENTION] - the home marathon is good in that you know the roads and the course but also you have the added expectation and being your first it was always going to be tougher. The second being away from home with less expectation and less riding on it made it easier, but to run it in 3:28 is fantastic in any circumstances - cracking effort fella.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I’ve been trying to stick to 2 rides, 2 runs and 3 swims a week. My swimming is by far my weakest discipline but I have seen massive improvements in the 4 weeks I’ve been training. I barely managed 8 lengths first time and now up to 34 and feel like I could do more. My front crawl is the same pace as most others breast stroke but its confidence building for me as never really been comfortable in water. I’ve also been trying to take the bike if an opportunity arises even if only for 3 miles and have combined that into some brick sessions to get the legs used to the change over. I completely agree it’s exhausting and I’m like knocky only doing the baby But very interested to follow your path to the iron man as it’s something I’d like to think I might try.

I was exactly the same, but my swim on Sunday was the first time I thought I'd cracked it. I was down for 1,700m and felt like I could carry on for more. My advice for the bike is get up some hills. I guess it's a similar situation to running, but hill work really makes a difference to stamina and I'm chipping away at the times on Strava, which is actually quite a good motivator.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Enjoy Edinburgh. I spent three nights there and thought it was a great city.

Edinburgh itself is incredibly hilly but the marathon isn’t, mainly because not much of it is in Edinburgh. It starts with three miles around the city centre followed by two miles through the suburbs to the coast. There are two nice downhills and only one incline in that section. At the five mile mark you reach the sea. It is then 12 miles up the coastal road into East Lothian, a turnaround point at about 17 miles and nine miles back down the coast to the finish in Musselburgh, which is a few miles outside Edinburgh. The route is largely flat and the temperature was nice and cool on Sunday. Overall I would say it’s a well organised event with nice scenery and it’s as flat as a marathon is ever likely to be. Downsides would be the fact only the first three miles are in Edinburgh itself and, as a result of the rural/coastal route that only passes through a few small villages, there are very few spectators in comparison with my marathon debut at Brighton. In fact, apart from the area at Musselburgh that you pass at nine and 26 miles, there was hardly anybody out to watch.

As for my race, as I mentioned on here last week, I didn’t feel at my very best going into it. I have run quite a lot since Brighton but haven’t really hadn’t the motivation to do marathon-specific training. I also didn’t have the drive that comes from having a target time. In hindsight, that actually turned out to be a good thing as I took the first half slowly. I reached halfway in 1:42:43, more than four and a half minutes slower than I did at Brighton. I was a bit concerned at that stage as I wasn’t running at my usual pace and I hadn’t really planned to be that slow. However, what happened next was I inadvertently learned all about the benefits of pacing. I barely fell away at all. I didn’t run a single KM over 5:08 and only a small number over 5:00, whereas at Brighton I fell off a cliff that had me down at 5:55 in the closing stages. I felt strong until the very end, in fact I felt better at some points after 20 miles than I did in the first five miles. I ran the second half in 1:46:19 to come home in 3:28:02 - almost two minutes faster than Brighton.

Considering I did two marathons so close together and couldn’t really get myself properly up for this one as a result, I’m delighted with that. It felt like I was far more comfortable with the distance this time and in control. It’s showed me the benefit of not racing out the blocks, which has always been my strategy over every distance. Compare my 1:38/1:51 splits at Brighton to 1:42/1:46 at Edinburgh and I know which one feels nicer! With that in mind and given time to dedicate myself to just one marathon next time, I’m feeling confident I can smash my time again in a few months.

Well done, fella. Really chuffed for you.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Enjoy Edinburgh. I spent three nights there and thought it was a great city.

Edinburgh itself is incredibly hilly but the marathon isn’t, mainly because not much of it is in Edinburgh. It starts with three miles around the city centre followed by two miles through the suburbs to the coast. There are two nice downhills and only one incline in that section. At the five mile mark you reach the sea. It is then 12 miles up the coastal road into East Lothian, a turnaround point at about 17 miles and nine miles back down the coast to the finish in Musselburgh, which is a few miles outside Edinburgh. The route is largely flat and the temperature was nice and cool on Sunday. Overall I would say it’s a well organised event with nice scenery and it’s as flat as a marathon is ever likely to be. Downsides would be the fact only the first three miles are in Edinburgh itself and, as a result of the rural/coastal route that only passes through a few small villages, there are very few spectators in comparison with my marathon debut at Brighton. In fact, apart from the area at Musselburgh that you pass at nine and 26 miles, there was hardly anybody out to watch.

As for my race, as I mentioned on here last week, I didn’t feel at my very best going into it. I have run quite a lot since Brighton but haven’t really hadn’t the motivation to do marathon-specific training. I also didn’t have the drive that comes from having a target time. In hindsight, that actually turned out to be a good thing as I took the first half slowly. I reached halfway in 1:42:43, more than four and a half minutes slower than I did at Brighton. I was a bit concerned at that stage as I wasn’t running at my usual pace and I hadn’t really planned to be that slow. However, what happened next was I inadvertently learned all about the benefits of pacing. I barely fell away at all. I didn’t run a single KM over 5:08 and only a small number over 5:00, whereas at Brighton I fell off a cliff that had me down at 5:55 in the closing stages. I felt strong until the very end, in fact I felt better at some points after 20 miles than I did in the first five miles. I ran the second half in 1:46:19 to come home in 3:28:02 - almost two minutes faster than Brighton.

Considering I did two marathons so close together and couldn’t really get myself properly up for this one as a result, I’m delighted with that. It felt like I was far more comfortable with the distance this time and in control. It’s showed me the benefit of not racing out the blocks, which has always been my strategy over every distance. Compare my 1:38/1:51 splits at Brighton to 1:42/1:46 at Edinburgh and I know which one feels nicer! With that in mind and given time to dedicate myself to just one marathon next time, I’m feeling confident I can smash my time again in a few months.

Excellent work. Really pleased for you. And know you have the experience of two marathons, plus the experience of the training requirements and how your body faired during the race, behind you I have no doubt you know what to do to smash your time again.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Enjoy Edinburgh. I spent three nights there and thought it was a great city.

Edinburgh itself is incredibly hilly but the marathon isn’t, mainly because not much of it is in Edinburgh. It starts with three miles around the city centre followed by two miles through the suburbs to the coast. There are two nice downhills and only one incline in that section. At the five mile mark you reach the sea. It is then 12 miles up the coastal road into East Lothian, a turnaround point at about 17 miles and nine miles back down the coast to the finish in Musselburgh, which is a few miles outside Edinburgh. The route is largely flat and the temperature was nice and cool on Sunday. Overall I would say it’s a well organised event with nice scenery and it’s as flat as a marathon is ever likely to be. Downsides would be the fact only the first three miles are in Edinburgh itself and, as a result of the rural/coastal route that only passes through a few small villages, there are very few spectators in comparison with my marathon debut at Brighton. In fact, apart from the area at Musselburgh that you pass at nine and 26 miles, there was hardly anybody out to watch.

As for my race, as I mentioned on here last week, I didn’t feel at my very best going into it. I have run quite a lot since Brighton but haven’t really hadn’t the motivation to do marathon-specific training. I also didn’t have the drive that comes from having a target time. In hindsight, that actually turned out to be a good thing as I took the first half slowly. I reached halfway in 1:42:43, more than four and a half minutes slower than I did at Brighton. I was a bit concerned at that stage as I wasn’t running at my usual pace and I hadn’t really planned to be that slow. However, what happened next was I inadvertently learned all about the benefits of pacing. I barely fell away at all. I didn’t run a single KM over 5:08 and only a small number over 5:00, whereas at Brighton I fell off a cliff that had me down at 5:55 in the closing stages. I felt strong until the very end, in fact I felt better at some points after 20 miles than I did in the first five miles. I ran the second half in 1:46:19 to come home in 3:28:02 - almost two minutes faster than Brighton.

Considering I did two marathons so close together and couldn’t really get myself properly up for this one as a result, I’m delighted with that. It felt like I was far more comfortable with the distance this time and in control. It’s showed me the benefit of not racing out the blocks, which has always been my strategy over every distance. Compare my 1:38/1:51 splits at Brighton to 1:42/1:46 at Edinburgh and I know which one feels nicer! With that in mind and given time to dedicate myself to just one marathon next time, I’m feeling confident I can smash my time again in a few months.

Good running, well done. I went off too fast in every single race I did to start off with with the exception of Brighton Half, where I was boxed in and BM10K where I deliberately held back in the first half. Guess which two races I'm most happy with?

 

[dazzer6666]

Enjoy Edinburgh. I spent three nights there and thought it was a great city.

Edinburgh itself is incredibly hilly but the marathon isn’t, mainly because not much of it is in Edinburgh. It starts with three miles around the city centre followed by two miles through the suburbs to the coast. There are two nice downhills and only one incline in that section. At the five mile mark you reach the sea. It is then 12 miles up the coastal road into East Lothian, a turnaround point at about 17 miles and nine miles back down the coast to the finish in Musselburgh, which is a few miles outside Edinburgh. The route is largely flat and the temperature was nice and cool on Sunday. Overall I would say it’s a well organised event with nice scenery and it’s as flat as a marathon is ever likely to be. Downsides would be the fact only the first three miles are in Edinburgh itself and, as a result of the rural/coastal route that only passes through a few small villages, there are very few spectators in comparison with my marathon debut at Brighton. In fact, apart from the area at Musselburgh that you pass at nine and 26 miles, there was hardly anybody out to watch.

As for my race, as I mentioned on here last week, I didn’t feel at my very best going into it. I have run quite a lot since Brighton but haven’t really hadn’t the motivation to do marathon-specific training. I also didn’t have the drive that comes from having a target time. In hindsight, that actually turned out to be a good thing as I took the first half slowly. I reached halfway in 1:42:43, more than four and a half minutes slower than I did at Brighton. I was a bit concerned at that stage as I wasn’t running at my usual pace and I hadn’t really planned to be that slow. However, what happened next was I inadvertently learned all about the benefits of pacing. I barely fell away at all. I didn’t run a single KM over 5:08 and only a small number over 5:00, whereas at Brighton I fell off a cliff that had me down at 5:55 in the closing stages. I felt strong until the very end, in fact I felt better at some points after 20 miles than I did in the first five miles. I ran the second half in 1:46:19 to come home in 3:28:02 - almost two minutes faster than Brighton.

Considering I did two marathons so close together and couldn’t really get myself properly up for this one as a result, I’m delighted with that. It felt like I was far more comfortable with the distance this time and in control. It’s showed me the benefit of not racing out the blocks, which has always been my strategy over every distance. Compare my 1:38/1:51 splits at Brighton to 1:42/1:46 at Edinburgh and I know which one feels nicer! With that in mind and given time to dedicate myself to just one marathon next time, I’m feeling confident I can smash my time again in a few months.

Great stuff, very impressive pacing and a cracking time !