Official Running Thread

[knocky1]

I'll put [MENTION=6625]Badger[/MENTION] at the top of the table till the next update for a fantastic marathon result before placing him on 5K time. (Looks like his worst 3.1 miles in this marathon would get him fastest NSC 5K for 2019 but rules is rules).

[MENTION=88]Bob![/MENTION] has a half marathon AG entered and can share the limelight with [MENTION=18183]big nuts[/MENTION] following a good run in harsh conditions at Worthing half.

NAME	5K SB	5K PB	SB AG	10K	10M	HM	M
Badger		18:09		39:06		1:22:57	2:56:34
Ninja Elephant	20:27	18:23	63.41%	39:00	1:07:57	1:27:43	3:29:12
Dazzer	20:35	19.57	72.79%			1:36	3:43:
St Leonard's	20.44	19.44	63.59%			1:34:35
Bad Ash	20:45	19:40	64.82%	43:27		1:35:00	3:43:03
Knocky	21:10	17:45	75.12%	39:52		1:34:00	3:50:49
CompleteBadger	21:31	19:37	60.26%	41:25	1:17:11	1:30:58	3:29:52
GNT	21:47	20:20	76.28%	40:31	1:19:12	1:31:18	4:19:55
Soistes	21:51	21:51	75.36%	46:14		1:43:57	3:51:33
Simgull	21:52	20:21	68.52%	42:45	1:11:46	1:38:14	3:44:28
P's Harmonica	21:57	20:10		43:03		1:33:56	3:27:19
Anchorman	22:31	21:34	70.61%	46.25		1:41:38	3:55:00
Guinness Boy	23:02	22:04		46:50	01:21:06	1:46:03	4:00:06
Greg Bobkin	23:12	20:54		42:	1:13:	1:39:00	3:57:37
HerrTubthumper	24:09	19:03				1:36:10	3:05:34
Capricorn		16:57		36:55		1:23:20	3:21:11
Deletebeepbeep		18:05				1:23:48	3:01:55
Artie Fufkin		18:24		38:42		1:21:15	3:07:58
Big Nuts		18:37		38:39	1:05:38	1:28:14	3:15:59
Curious Orange		18:36		37:59		1:24:23.9	3:29:23
Blue&WhiteSea		17:05		36:53	1:00:09	1:22:39
Mr Banana		19:28
SeafordbySea		20:02		46:10	1:29:21	1:37:48
Left Back		21:02		45:47		1:42:01
Ben Eltons Bro		21:35		45:38		1:45:39	3:52:07
RInce'sPython		22:29		48:45		1:55:48
Bob!		22:41	66.35%	45.39	1:16:42	1:44:21	3:53:35
Mr Blobby		23:43		48:54	1:20:05	1:48:59	4:27:50
Pembury		18.58		39.08		1:33:02	3:19:
JoePrecious		19:44		46:19	1:24:08	1:38:13	4:04:30
Hooky		19:52
m20gull		26:15		57:32		02:07:07	5:46:02
Jonny Rainbow				41:43	1:12:40		3:24:38
Shippers						1:43:42
sjamesb3466				54:11		2:02:06

 

[Artie Fufkin]

I only went and did it!

I arrived in Phoenix on Thursday, feeling tired and not particularly confident after a really bad night's sleep the night before. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I had the best night's sleep and woke up on Friday feeling great. That was a day for expo, cramming in those last carbs and putting my feet up.

I NEVER sleep well the night before a race (does anyone?), so I wasn't too annoyed when I didn't get to sleep until well after midnight with my alarm set for 3:45am (thankfully that's 5:45am Toronto time). It wasn't the best start to the day when our taxi failed to turn up and the estimated time of the Uber we then booked kept getting later. Luckily there was a couple catching their own Uber and they kindly let us jump in with them. That's one thing I always like about America.

We arrived at the finish line and everyone had to join a huge queue to board one of those big yellow school buses to take us to the start line. It turned out I'd timed it perfectly, by the time I'd get off the bus, queued up for the toilet, and dropped my bag off it was only 10 minutes until the start. That start time was 6:30am, so it was still dark and they provided patio heaters for us to stand under as it was about 5C and didn't get above about 8C for the whole race.

The important bit. A (quite deafening) firework set us off and there's that sudden realisation that I'm actually doing this race I've trained so hard for. As you probably know, 3 hours was my target, which is an average pace of around 4:15 per km. For the first couple of km I was running alongside the 3:00 pacer which seemed like a good idea. For some reason he went off at a 4:00/km pace and the guy next to me and I said to each other "he's going way too fast, let's set our own pace". So I kept with this guy until around 8km when we turned and started the only real climb on the course. Halfway up this climb I found myself overtaking the pacer because he'd slowed it right down. i'm so glad I didn't stick with him as I really like to try and keep a consistent pace.

The first half of the race is pretty much all downhill apart from that one climb which is about a mile long. It's the prettiest part of the course, the sun rises behind you and you're surrounded by the desert and hundreds of cacti. I crossed the halfway mark at 1:27, way ahead of target. I felt great but there's always that fear you've gone off too hard. The second half is almost completely flat and runs along typical wide suburban roads. Less scenic but at least there were some spectators to cheer us on. I found myself running with a few people and we'd often be trading places as we'd have those ups and downs in energy at different times.

The last 10k was hard, REALLY hard. My brain was telling me to stop and I just had to keep willing myself to move forward. At one point I was following this guy at a steady pace and suddenly realised he'd slowed right down, so I forced myself past him and latched on to the next guy. I was just counting down those last turns and my friend was standing 500m from the finish shouting support as my legs just kept going. Then I crossed the line, stopped my watch, and it said 2:56:34. I'm not normally one to get very emotional but I stumbled around for a bit not knowing how to react, then someone put a medal around my neck and I started crying.

I still can't quite believe, over a day later. If you'd said to me 2 years ago I'd run a sub 3 hour marathon, I'd have thought you were mad.

Congrats Badger! Truly awesome running! Looking in awe at your mile splits on Strava your pacing was absolutely on point! Well done!

 

[Curious Orange]

Good news. My latest outpatient appointment didn't result in me being sent for a CT scan, so no possibility of another operation at the moment, and as my next appointment is in six weeks this means I have a free run at getting back up to distance for the Surrey Half.

Current aim is just to make it round!

 

[penny's harmonica]

Some great running over the weekend, well done all taking part in an event. But special praise for [MENTION=6625]Badger[/MENTION], really pleased for you. Sub 3 is very special

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Some great running over the weekend, well done all taking part in an event. But special praise for [MENTION=6625]Badger[/MENTION], really pleased for you. Sub 3 is very special

As an aside, thought I saw you at Brighton station after the game heading along the front of the station where the taxi queue is. The moment quickly passed before I could say hi.

 

[penny's harmonica]

As an aside, thought I saw you at Brighton station after the game heading along the front of the station where the taxi queue is. The moment quickly passed before I could say hi.

You did. I was on way to the Signalman to hook up with some familiar faces but the train didn’t stop at London Rd station so hopped in a cab. Would be good to have a beer, next time...

 

[BlockDpete]

Well done on the good running from people this weekend.

I did Worthing Half yesterday, and gosh it was windy. Though probably not as windy as it was on Saturday.

Set myself a time to beat of 2:30, and actually managed 2:25, which I was very pleased with. Was thinking that if I hadn't had to tackle the head wind all the way to Goring, it might have been even quicker.

Next race is Brighton Marathon 10k, but fancy a half in March, so may do Hastings again.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

[MENTION=6625]Badger[/MENTION] is an absolute machine, what a time to be alive - the first NSC sub-3 marathon. Brilliant performance and well deserved, having put in the hard work and the many, many hours invested in the preparation. Magnificent display.

I'm feeling in a good place at the moment, a good (almost) 10 miles yesterday in 90 minutes and a smashing 8 miles in the seaside sunshine today in 1:02 and change. Tomorrow I've been prescribed a treadmill pace session - 5 minutes at 11km/h, 10 minutes 12kp/h, 10 minutes at 14kp/h and finally 5 minutes at 15kp/h. Wednesday will be another 8 mile steady run, followed by 10 miles on thursday (8:30 per mile pace). Saturday will be an attempt at a quicker parkrun than I've managed so far this year. Looking like being at Kettering.

 

[driddles]

Congrats [MENTION=6625]Badger[/MENTION] what a great achievement! Does that get you into Boston/Will you go if it does?

 

[Badger]

Thanks for the messages everyone. I have to say I've been quite overwhelmed from all the reactions I've got on social media etc. It certainly makes me feel good about myself.

To answer various questions without quoting everyone:

Yes, I'll be going to Boston next year. 3:05 is my BQ time (M35-39) That was my primary goal for this race, but I feel like I would have been slightly disappointed if I'd come in at 3:02 or something.

As far as I know the 3:00 pacer made it in on time. I guess it must be so hard to pace in a marathon. He would have been at least a 2:40 runner, so I can kind of understand the difficulty of slowing down to pace. I think it just took him a while to get it right.

As for my long training runs. I didn't run them at marathon pace. I did most of them at 4:30-4:35/km pace, so at least 15 seconds slower. I'd sometimes throw in a few marathon pace kms at the end if I was feeling good. TBH the long runs were probably faster than they needed to be. All the training guides suggest being at least 30 seconds off your race pace.



Meanwhile, I've been enjoying a few days in and around Phoenix as I'm not heading back until Wednesday. Yesterday I did a tour of Taliesin West, a house by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright (I think someone on this thread mentioned it to me). Such an interesting place to see, and he seemed the typical eccentric creative type.

Today I did a road trip up to Sedona. Some absolutely spectacular views of the rock formations. We went on an easy hike on one of the trails, around 5k which was about all my quads could take!



My next race is a 5k on St Patrick's Day...

 

[knocky1]

Glad to have helped a champ, if not with running , with Taliesin West. Beautiful area Sedona. Saw Frank Lloydd Wright’s Chapel of the Holy Cross perched on a hill overlooking the desert in 1997. Went back in 2013 and the eye surgery man, Mr LASIK, had had a chav palace built right underneath it.

On a running note, I was 101 from 109 on Saturday’s XC.

 

[dazzer6666]

Thanks for the messages everyone. I have to say I've been quite overwhelmed from all the reactions I've got on social media etc. It certainly makes me feel good about myself.

To answer various questions without quoting everyone:

Yes, I'll be going to Boston next year. 3:05 is my BQ time (M35-39) That was my primary goal for this race, but I feel like I would have been slightly disappointed if I'd come in at 3:02 or something.

As far as I know the 3:00 pacer made it in on time. I guess it must be so hard to pace in a marathon. He would have been at least a 2:40 runner, so I can kind of understand the difficulty of slowing down to pace. I think it just took him a while to get it right.

As for my long training runs. I didn't run them at marathon pace. I did most of them at 4:30-4:35/km pace, so at least 15 seconds slower. I'd sometimes throw in a few marathon pace kms at the end if I was feeling good. TBH the long runs were probably faster than they needed to be. All the training guides suggest being at least 30 seconds off your race pace.



Meanwhile, I've been enjoying a few days in and around Phoenix as I'm not heading back until Wednesday. Yesterday I did a tour of Taliesin West, a house by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright (I think someone on this thread mentioned it to me). Such an interesting place to see, and he seemed the typical eccentric creative type.

Today I did a road trip up to Sedona. Some absolutely spectacular views of the rock formations. We went on an easy hike on one of the trails, around 5k which was about all my quads could take!



My next race is a 5k on St Patrick's Day...

Phoenix option for next time ? This one is on my bucket list - poss next year

https://www.aravaiparunning.com/desert-solstice/

 

[Badger]

Phoenix option for next time ? This one is on my bucket list - poss next year

https://www.aravaiparunning.com/desert-solstice/

That looks like the worst thing ever!

 

[Badger]

Glad to have helped a champ, if not with running , with Taliesin West. Beautiful area Sedona. Saw Frank Lloydd Wright’s Chapel of the Holy Cross perched on a hill overlooking the desert in 1997. Went back in 2013 and the eye surgery man, Mr LASIK, had had a chav palace built right underneath it.

On a running note, I was 101 from 109 on Saturday’s XC.

Ha, we saw the Chapel of the Holy Cross yesterday!

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

At the other end of the Badger spectrum...…………..I've finally given up my hopes of running a sub 4 marathon (forget a sub 3!). A few weeks ago I entered the Eastbourne Trackstar hoping for one last blast. But knee and back niggles (niggles as in not really being able to tie up my shoe laces) have forced me to face up to it: it's not for me. The planet has lost a very ordinary marathon runner: just 3 and all underperformances.
It'll come to all of you (us) sometime, so enjoy the unique torture while you can (which is the point of this post).

I'll put all my efforts into defending my (5k) AG title for 2019 and hope to extend my running past the age of 65...………………….Happy running!

 

[knocky1]

At the other end of the Badger spectrum...…………..I've finally given up my hopes of running a sub 4 marathon (forget a sub 3!). A few weeks ago I entered the Eastbourne Trackstar hoping for one last blast. But knee and back niggles (niggles as in not really being able to tie up my shoe laces) have forced me to face up to it: it's not for me. The planet has lost a very ordinary marathon runner: just 3 and all underperformances.
It'll come to all of you (us) sometime, so enjoy the unique torture while you can (which is the point of this post).

I'll put all my efforts into defending my (5k) AG title for 2019 and hope to extend my running past the age of 65...………………….Happy running!

A man has to do what a man has to do. Whatever that means. Good luck with the body! I now run marathons without aiming at a time. It forces me to get the miles in in training and takes all pressure off on the day. I then sit back and enjoy the torture.

At moment the lurgy is taking a strong hold, all training suspended and my long awaited club dash at PP Parkrun Saturday is looking doubtful.

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

A man has to do what a man has to do. Whatever that means. Good luck with the body! I now run marathons without aiming at a time. It forces me to get the miles in in training and takes all pressure off on the day. I then sit back and enjoy the torture.

At moment the lurgy is taking a strong hold, all training suspended and my long awaited club dash at PP Parkrun Saturday is looking doubtful.

You seem to be lurgy-prone right now. Is it because you've really stepped up the training?

 

[knocky1]

You seem to be lurgy-prone right now. Is it because you've really stepped up the training?

No it's her fault. I've been sitting around the sicko for 10 days quietly gloating at male superior ability at fighting off illness when I suddenly succumbed.

Training has been a progression from trekking. High percentage of 9:30 to 10:00 mile pace, adding hills and inclines. Sacrificing tempo and speed work, if any tiredness. All based on planned 8:52 marathon pace. Winter base level training. Feeling good but have had to do hours of stretching, roller work and back work.

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

No it's her fault. I've been sitting around the sicko for 10 days quietly gloating at male superior ability at fighting off illness when I suddenly succumbed.

Training has been a progression from trekking. High percentage of 9:30 to 10:00 mile pace, adding hills and inclines. Sacrificing tempo and speed work, if any tiredness. All based on planned 8:52 marathon pace. Winter base level training. Feeling good but have had to do hours of stretching, roller work and back work.

Thanks. You've reminded me that I've been neglecting 'routine maintenance work' (that's on the body, not the relationship!) and that this might not be unrelated to current crockedness. However I did a brutal 5 x 400 metre hill repeat session today in a PB time so things can't be that bad. Amazing how one good run can lift the spirits.

 

[knocky1]

Amazing how one good run can lift the spirits.

November the 10th I think it was for me. Lucky knocky is patient.