Official Running Thread

[dazzer6666]

There's always tomorrow Bozza.

I think it's important to consider taking water and some kind of fuel (gels or bars) on your long runs. Our body's glycogen stores last for about 90 mins. When I know I'm going to be running over 90/115 mins I usually wear a hydration vest to carry some water and a few gels. I'm liking the below Salomon vest at the moment but there's quite a few brands available. It comes with two 500ml soft flasks and a bladder (but I take the bladder out as I'm not going super long), plus a ton of stretchy pockets to store gels/nutrition, extra layers, keys, smart phone (when I'm running over 2 hours my wife always says I need to take my phone just in case.)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Salomon-Li...salomon+hydration+vests&qid=1584277535&sr=8-5

It's good to try a bunch of different brands when it comes to gels as some can cause an upset stomach. I use Science In Sport gels. For today's 21 miler I took 3 gels and water.

https://www.scienceinsport.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3b2R08ic6AIViK3tCh0S_QS1EAAYASAAEgLLJPD_BwE

I'm probably different to most in that I prefer running "empty". Before morning long runs I only have a coffee and a pint of water, no food. I could bore you about the benefits of "fat adapting" However as soon as I get back from a long run, particularly if it's a hard effort long run, I have to go straight into recovery mode and eat to refuel the body to help it recover. Usually porridge with chopped banana, blueberries and chia seeds, toasted bagel with jam or scrambled eggs, and a glass of milk or chocolate milk

Pretty much identical here.....although I can't stomach SiS gels and tend to use Gu on anything up to marathon distance or so. On longer, slower runs (trail ultras) I use 'real' food. If an event there are usually loads of savoury options at aid stations, if training I'll take things like flapjack, peanut butter wraps etc. Really key thing on the ultras is to start eating quite early on. I use a belt that has a couple of 250ml bottles for the runs up to 2 hours and a Salomon SLab Sense 5-set for anything longer unless I know there are plenty of aid stations.

Good thing about Friday's event was the aid station every 400 metres

 

[Badger]

I ended up doing 19k yesterday. I wanted to still do a long run but not really push the distance. I did also have a very specific goal which came around 8k into my run. There's one particular Strava segment of about 400m across these 2 bridges in a park which opened last year. Some guys in my RunTOBeer running group have been trading places in the top 10, but my only attempt to go fast was very foolish because I hadn't fully recovered from an injury. I was waiting until after Boston to give it another shot but obviously things have changed. So, I went for it at full tilt yesterday. Running 400m fast really is horrific, I don't know why I do this kind of stuff! I then had to wait until I'd finished the rest of my run before I found out if I was successful. It paid off, I took the crown by 2 seconds then met up with a few of the guys later in the day including the one who previously held the crown. I definitely didn't gloat....


I think I'm still going to be doing a lot of running over the next few weeks. Working from home means I can go out in the middle of the day. I'm definitely going to be wanting to get outside. There's not too much else to do now either.

 

[dazzer6666]

Ref discussions about Phoenix events, here’s how Rik is dealing with it (worth joining his facebook group if you’re potentially interested in doing one of his races). His aid stations aren’t called the ‘tuck shop’ for nothing [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Sorry can’t post a link, but on FB look for ‘Phoenix Running UK chat group’

Meanwhile, outstanding stuff from the guys at Centurion - clear comms, and several events reorganised (don’t underestimate the faff that this would involve for each race)

https://www.centurionrunning.com/blog/2020/03/15/2020-events-postponement-announcement

 

[sjamesb3466]

Ran the Oundle 20 today which was meant to be my last race before Brighton. Was aiming for just under 3 hours (marathon aim was sub 4 hours) and came in at 2:44:11 so was properly chuffed.

What is everyone else doing in regards to restarting their training if marathons have been moved to Autumn? Scale back on the mileage and start again in July or keep on with the current training levels so as not to lose any fitness? Guessing scaling back is the idea to prevent burnout and overtraining over the summer?

 

[big nuts]

Ran the Oundle 20 today which was meant to be my last race before Brighton. Was aiming for just under 3 hours (marathon aim was sub 4 hours) and came in at 2:44:11 so was properly chuffed.

What is everyone else doing in regards to restarting their training if marathons have been moved to Autumn? Scale back on the mileage and start again in July or keep on with the current training levels so as not to lose any fitness? Guessing scaling back is the idea to prevent burnout and overtraining over the summer?

I’ve given myself the treat of a reducing running weekend with more drinking and eating to let off some steam after the disappointment of the marathon cancellation.

I’ll be back on track from next week. My long runs will have no pressure attached to them now. When I go out I’ll stop when I want but ideally I’d like to keep my long runs to 2 hours+ and then maintain that through until July when I’ll aim for runs of 30K plus again.

Well done on your time today. Looks like sub 4 should be reasonably comfortable.

 

[dazzer6666]

Ran the Oundle 20 today which was meant to be my last race before Brighton. Was aiming for just under 3 hours (marathon aim was sub 4 hours) and came in at 2:44:11 so was properly chuffed.

What is everyone else doing in regards to restarting their training if marathons have been moved to Autumn? Scale back on the mileage and start again in July or keep on with the current training levels so as not to lose any fitness? Guessing scaling back is the idea to prevent burnout and overtraining over the summer?

Good effort, but if you were genuinely aiming for just under 3 you ****ed your pacing right up [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Not scaling back at all. There are always going to be events to enter, many at short notice, but failing that, the working from hime directives should mean far more training time for many of us. Time to crack on !

 

[jimhigham]

Photographed the Brentwood Half today with Ant and the team. Behind the usual laughter and bonhomie at the finish line was an unspoken sadness. Events are being pulled all over and we simply don't know when we will work together again. I have adored this work and feel almost bereft at its being taken away. I'm feeling very low this evening as a result.

I've now got a whole heap of free Sundays I hadn't bargained for. They can be put to good use. They will become my weekly long run days. Kenya preparation will continue through the spring and summer so at least I have a clear goal to keep me going.

I really feel for Ant, Sally and the Sussex Sport Photography team. They've been in the game a long time and are very good at what they do. They face an uncertain future through no fault of their own. That applies to so many people right now of course, but this feels very close to home.

 

[dazzer6666]

Photographed the Brentwood Half today with Ant and the team. Behind the usual laughter and bonhomie at the finish line was an unspoken sadness. Events are being pulled all over and we simply don't know when we will work together again. I have adored this work and feel almost bereft at its being taken away. I'm feeling very low this evening as a result.

I've now got a whole heap of free Sundays I hadn't bargained for. They can be put to good use. They will become my weekly long run days. Kenya preparation will continue through the spring and summer so at least I have a clear goal to keep me going.

I really feel for Ant, Sally and the Sussex Sport Photography team. They've been in the game a long time and are very good at what they do. They face an uncertain future through no fault of their own. That applies to so many people right now of course, but this feels very close to home.

Hope it all sorts itself out soon - I’ve got hundreds of race pics from Ant and team over the years, always do a fantastic job........maybe worth getting in touch with some of the lower key organisers that don’t have official photographers like STE and Phoenix.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

So - saturday was a new 5k PB for me - 17:37 (37.79% AG) on the Prom which was enough for 2nd place. Gutted I was there rather than Hove Park, my time would comfortably have had me in 1st place. My time there will come! It wasn't a particularly wise decision to try and maintain the pace, but I was ahead at 1k and thought I had a good chance to hold on. I didn't, and by 1.25k, it was over. I wasn't planning on running a PB, or attempting to, but it went rather well and I wanted to feel like I hadn't wasted 9 months training for events which haven't happened.

Ran the Oundle 20 today which was meant to be my last race before Brighton. Was aiming for just under 3 hours (marathon aim was sub 4 hours) and came in at 2:44:11 so was properly chuffed.

What is everyone else doing in regards to restarting their training if marathons have been moved to Autumn? Scale back on the mileage and start again in July or keep on with the current training levels so as not to lose any fitness? Guessing scaling back is the idea to prevent burnout and overtraining over the summer?

Ah, if only I'd known! I was there as well!

I ran 2:16:10, with bonus PBs thrown in for 5 miles (31:20), 10 miles (1:05:19) and Half Marathon (1:26:35). Not that any of them matter for the table, but even so. 20 mile PB as well, technically - although I've only raced the distance twice. Both of them in March 2020! I came 23rd, which I was more than happy with considering my complete and utter catastrophic pacing! 5:50 for the first mile, 11:59 for the first 2 miles and the first 5k in sub-19. Mental and bloody stupid - but there you go. It is what it is, I wanted to have a good go at 6:15 per mile the whole way around. I wasn't even close! 6:48 per mile average is still good - considering the 29:25 for the final 4 miles - 7:21 per mile.

This is what happens when I don't run either with [MENTION=18183]big nuts[/MENTION] or listen to sense from [MENTION=11816]Artie Fufkin[/MENTION]!

Good effort, but if you were genuinely aiming for just under 3 you ****ed your pacing right up [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Not scaling back at all. There are always going to be events to enter, many at short notice, but failing that, the working from hime directives should mean far more training time for many of us. Time to crack on !

I also ****ed up the pacing! But there we go. I'm going to ease off on the miles now, probably drop from 50 per week to 25/30 at the maximum. I'm looking at attacking shorter distances for a couple of months and see how close to sub-17 I can get for a parkrun.

 

[sjamesb3466]

Good effort, but if you were genuinely aiming for just under 3 you ****ed your pacing right up [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Not scaling back at all. There are always going to be events to enter, many at short notice, but failing that, the working from hime directives should mean far more training time for many of us. Time to crack on !

I kind of ****ed it up but at the same time not really!

Never raced more than a HM before so was in pretty uncharted territory. The goal of just under 3 hours was before Brighton was cancelled (didn't want to push too much and risk injury) so when I set off a bit quick today but felt pretty good I thought, **** it might as well keep going and see if I crash and burn! If Brighton was still on I would have definitely pulled back.

In hindsight could probably have gone a little quicker still but as mentioned, it was a step I to the unknown and although I was pushing I never really went to the point where I thought I may have to back off the pace.

 

[sjamesb3466]

So - saturday was a new 5k PB for me - 17:37 (37.79% AG) on the Prom which was enough for 2nd place. Gutted I was there rather than Hove Park, my time would comfortably have had me in 1st place. My time there will come! It wasn't a particularly wise decision to try and maintain the pace, but I was ahead at 1k and thought I had a good chance to hold on. I didn't, and by 1.25k, it was over. I wasn't planning on running a PB, or attempting to, but it went rather well and I wanted to feel like I hadn't wasted 9 months training for events which haven't happened.



Ah, if only I'd known! I was there as well!

I ran 2:16:10, with bonus PBs thrown in for 5 miles (31:20), 10 miles (1:05:19) and Half Marathon (1:26:35). Not that any of them matter for the table, but even so. 20 mile PB as well, technically - although I've only raced the distance twice. Both of them in March 2020! I came 23rd, which I was more than happy with considering my complete and utter catastrophic pacing! 5:50 for the first mile, 11:59 for the first 2 miles and the first 5k in sub-19. Mental and bloody stupid - but there you go. It is what it is, I wanted to have a good go at 6:15 per mile the whole way around. I wasn't even close! 6:48 per mile average is still good - considering the 29:25 for the final 4 miles - 7:21 per mile.

This is what happens when I don't run either with [MENTION=18183]big nuts[/MENTION] or listen to sense from [MENTION=11816]Artie Fufkin[/MENTION]!



I also ****ed up the pacing! But there we go. I'm going to ease off on the miles now, probably drop from 50 per week to 25/30 at the maximum. I'm looking at attacking shorter distances for a couple of months and see how close to sub-17 I can get for a parkrun.

Wow, amazing effort today! You know I'm sure I remember mentioning this race many pages back and seemed to remember you had mentioned that you were considering it but having not been around much on NSC recently (can't be arsed with the doom and gloom!) I forgot to ask if you had entered.

I also got a Half Marathon PB, was obviously a quick course today!

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Wow, amazing effort today! You know I'm sure I remember mentioning this race many pages back and seemed to remember you had mentioned that you were considering it but having not been around much on NSC recently (can't be arsed with the doom and gloom!) I forgot to ask if you had entered.

I also got a Half Marathon PB, was obviously a quick course today!

No worries - I entered because of a targeted advert on Facebook! It's a really good race - a nice free long sleeved shirt as a bonus and the food options at the end were decent. Plenty of water stations helped! I don't think the course is especially quick, given the few climbs in the first 13 miles - but I think we're both guilty of Chinchensyndrome - the art of messing up the pacing in favour of getting a PB for a specific section of the event.

(Named after a Brighton fan who regularly underperforms on raceday, having smashed the first however many miles!)

 

[big nuts]

So - saturday was a new 5k PB for me - 17:37 (37.79% AG) on the Prom which was enough for 2nd place. Gutted I was there rather than Hove Park, my time would comfortably have had me in 1st place. My time there will come! It wasn't a particularly wise decision to try and maintain the pace, but I was ahead at 1k and thought I had a good chance to hold on. I didn't, and by 1.25k, it was over. I wasn't planning on running a PB, or attempting to, but it went rather well and I wanted to feel like I hadn't wasted 9 months training for events which haven't happened.



Ah, if only I'd known! I was there as well!

I ran 2:16:10, with bonus PBs thrown in for 5 miles (31:20), 10 miles (1:05:19) and Half Marathon (1:26:35). Not that any of them matter for the table, but even so. 20 mile PB as well, technically - although I've only raced the distance twice. Both of them in March 2020! I came 23rd, which I was more than happy with considering my complete and utter catastrophic pacing! 5:50 for the first mile, 11:59 for the first 2 miles and the first 5k in sub-19. Mental and bloody stupid - but there you go. It is what it is, I wanted to have a good go at 6:15 per mile the whole way around. I wasn't even close! 6:48 per mile average is still good - considering the 29:25 for the final 4 miles - 7:21 per mile.

This is what happens when I don't run either with [MENTION=18183]big nuts[/MENTION] or listen to sense from [MENTION=11816]Artie Fufkin[/MENTION]!



I also ****ed up the pacing! But there we go. I'm going to ease off on the miles now, probably drop from 50 per week to 25/30 at the maximum. I'm looking at attacking shorter distances for a couple of months and see how close to sub-17 I can get for a parkrun.

Quite possibly a PB record from you this weekend.

5k, 5 mile, 15k, 10 miles, 20k, half marathon, 30k & 20 miles.

Whilst you ****ed up your pacing there are a lot of positives to take from this and you will have learned a valuable pacing lesson!

 

[knocky1]

Whilst preparing the table updates I came across a statistical coincidence. I had forgotten doing Dulwich Parkrun on Saturday and finishing just in front of [MENTION=137]Blue&WhiteSea[/MENTION] by 3 seconds in 17:55.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/dulwich/results/latestresults/

 

[Guinness Boy]

Whilst preparing the table updates I came across a statistical coincidence. I had forgotten doing Dulwich Parkrun on Saturday and finishing just in front of [MENTION=137]Blue&WhiteSea[/MENTION] by 3 seconds in 17:55.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/dulwich/results/latestresults/

Cloned knocky!

 

[knocky1]

Cloned knocky!

We’re working on getting a Weakest-Link-Relay team together. Not sure who the best 4 of us are yet. Looks like I’ll struggle to make the team based on the Dulwich time.

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

Whilst preparing the table updates I came across a statistical coincidence. I had forgotten doing Dulwich Parkrun on Saturday and finishing just in front of [MENTION=137]Blue&WhiteSea[/MENTION] by 3 seconds in 17:55.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/dulwich/results/latestresults/

I could almost believe the 17.55. What I cannot believe is the 30-34 age group!

I've come to a decision that I'm going to give running a bit of a rest for a while. My knee is getting worse and now isn't a great time to be on a knee replacement hospital waiting list. Parkrun is almost certainly going to be suspended too. I've had a few goodish runs this year so I've 'banked' a decent SB for the NSC table.

I'll keep monitoring the thread to check out the achievements of you guys and have the ambition of being able to walk down the stairs like a normal person! (I might be joining in the NSC fitness thread as I crank up the pull-ups and press-ups.)

Happy running lads - enjoy it while you can! (And don't rule out a sub 21 comeback at 65...……………….)

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I could almost believe the 17.55. What I cannot believe is the 30-34 age group!

I've come to a decision that I'm going to give running a bit of a rest for a while. My knee is getting worse and now isn't a great time to be on a knee replacement hospital waiting list. Parkrun is almost certainly going to be suspended too. I've had a few goodish runs this year so I've 'banked' a decent SB for the NSC table.

I'll keep monitoring the thread to check out the achievements of you guys and have the ambition of being able to walk down the stairs like a normal person! (I might be joining in the NSC fitness thread as I crank up the pull-ups and press-ups.)

Happy running lads - enjoy it while you can! (And don't rule out a sub 21 comeback at 65...……………….)

Enjoy the rest, and I look forward to your next comeback. Hopefully you're wrong about parkrun - but it could happen.

Whilst preparing the table updates I came across a statistical coincidence. I had forgotten doing Dulwich Parkrun on Saturday and finishing just in front of [MENTION=137]Blue&WhiteSea[/MENTION] by 3 seconds in 17:55.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/dulwich/results/latestresults/

Some extremely serious pace in that parkrun. No surprise you're up there and competing with the finest, Gaffer!

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Only if you're really slow

I'm up for a long run as usual this morning just because my normal Sunday routine demands a long run. With no event now till July (and that possibly in danger as there will be a mass campsite available for 2 days) I'm wondering how people's mojos are? Are we all looking forward to a few months of just running for running's sake? Or are there small events (Arun River has been mentioned on another forum, as has Phoenix) that we reckon will survive and could be more fun anyway?

On our coaching group's WhatsApp group the feeling is quite positive. A chance to dial back, enter smaller events and get some trails in over the summer. Is everyone else in and around that ballpark?

I'm heading out just after 7 this morning and it will be interesting to see if the usual Sunday gaggle of runners is reduced to a few hardcore nutters.

I'm lucky in that I hadn't entered any events, so nothing to miss out on. Although having found my love for running again is gonna be a bit frustrating if I can't get out or there are no races to run! But it's insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

I had a lovely run yesterday morning to Worthing and back – even slowed down a touch to run along and have a natter with a fella from Broadwater who was running to Lancing Green and back. First half marathon distance ticked off since the hellish Goodwood marathon, wishing I was in Lewes for Moyleman.

 

[Artie Fufkin]

So - saturday was a new 5k PB for me - 17:37 (37.79% AG) on the Prom which was enough for 2nd place. Gutted I was there rather than Hove Park, my time would comfortably have had me in 1st place. My time there will come! It wasn't a particularly wise decision to try and maintain the pace, but I was ahead at 1k and thought I had a good chance to hold on. I didn't, and by 1.25k, it was over. I wasn't planning on running a PB, or attempting to, but it went rather well and I wanted to feel like I hadn't wasted 9 months training for events which haven't happened.



Ah, if only I'd known! I was there as well!

I ran 2:16:10, with bonus PBs thrown in for 5 miles (31:20), 10 miles (1:05:19) and Half Marathon (1:26:35). Not that any of them matter for the table, but even so. 20 mile PB as well, technically - although I've only raced the distance twice. Both of them in March 2020! I came 23rd, which I was more than happy with considering my complete and utter catastrophic pacing! 5:50 for the first mile, 11:59 for the first 2 miles and the first 5k in sub-19. Mental and bloody stupid - but there you go. It is what it is, I wanted to have a good go at 6:15 per mile the whole way around. I wasn't even close! 6:48 per mile average is still good - considering the 29:25 for the final 4 miles - 7:21 per mile.

This is what happens when I don't run either with [MENTION=18183]big nuts[/MENTION] or listen to sense from [MENTION=11816]Artie Fufkin[/MENTION]!



I also ****ed up the pacing! But there we go. I'm going to ease off on the miles now, probably drop from 50 per week to 25/30 at the maximum. I'm looking at attacking shorter distances for a couple of months and see how close to sub-17 I can get for a parkrun.

Congrats on the parkrun PB Ninja! Great running! It's a massive shame the opportunity for you to hit a new height in the marathon (again) this time at Brighton, has been put on hold but rest assured the hard training over these months will still count for later this year. I'm sure you think the training for Leicester (I think?) brought about new gains into your training for Brighton. It's all about chipping away, building for the future and enjoying the process while you're at it.

I'm also dialling back on the volume and intensity and will just be running for fun. Working from home helps with that. To continue the training at the levels that I have been without it resulting in racing a marathon in April and with the current climate it's probably not sensible. I should be trying to keep my immune system as robust as possible. The stress we put on our body during a sustained heavy workload (marathon training) can result in it messing with your immune system and making you prone to picking things up.

I'm in for a 5k race in Hyde Park at the end of March and the Hackney Half in May but I think it's unlikely either of these will stay on. Plus the thought of heading into central London on the underground right now isn't particularly appealing.