It's a long way - to Tipperary!!!

[Bazza1234]

My last "races" were a HM in early August and a 10K two weeks later. Since then I have been playing around with lots of things and running 4-5 times per week - but mostly faster paces and nothing much over 5K. I have now started on retraining for another HM in April of next year - so I did a couple of slow 8K's on Saturday and Sunday morning (admittedly after Christmas celebrations/dinners on the two previous nights ) - but I felt a LONG way off 21.Klm (or Tipperary, come to that!)

[PippiRuns]

I don't think you need to worry much about it, Bazza. You know what you are doing and you will get right back into the stride of long distance running very soon.

[Madge50 Marathon]

Hi Bazza, I feel exactly the same, I'm doing my first HM in March, I've done two 10 milers (the last one at the end of November). Everyone keeps saying to me, 'oh if you can do 10 miles, you can do a HM' , to me it's a big step up from 10 miles to 13.1.

One thing I have learnt, to have a good event, the training is hard, but I have a plan........and yes, it seems a long way off, but I know it'll fly by....

I agree with PippiRuns , once a longer distance runner...and all that.....you'll get back to it, you'll do your HM, and I'll do mine.....

Mx

[Bazza1234 Marathon in reply to Madge50]

For me, I have found it necessary to incorporate two things into my HM training - one is to do a run longer than the race distance and the other is to do a fair bit of shorter training at goal race pace. The first one is to see that both my brain and legs have the strength to go on for such a long time (at a VERY slow pace even) and the second is to convince myself that I can get along at race pace - only the race itself will determine whether I can do this race pace for the full distance.

I have never done a race any longer than HM - but IF I ever did, it would simply be a matter of attempting to finish before the cut off , hence race pace becomes almost unimportant as if I wasn't able to finish before the cutoff, then I assume that I am not capable of finishing that distance at any pace. There seems to me that, for runs over HM, there is a point at which you can no longer run the distance during training and hence the race itself becomes the determinant of whether I can do it

[ju-ju- Marathon]

You will soon pick up as you continue on your training... well done!!

[JaySeeSkinny Half Marathon]

You've done it before and it's not as if you've stopped running since then, so you'll probably get back into it quite quickly. Is two 8kms in a row a good idea? On the other hand you've just done 16km - just with a gap of 24h in between!

[AnnieW55]

Hi Bazza I was just wondering if you'd used the lung/breathing device yet and if so what do you think of it. I'm thinking of getting one after today's fiasco of a run and wondered if you recommend them.my HM is April too. Thanks.

[Bazza1234 Marathon in reply to AnnieW55]

No - hasn't arrived from the US yet. What was the "fiasco" of your run??

[AnnieW55]

Just not able to run for any length of time - 8k of more walking than running. Almost as if I'd forgotten how and my breathing in the damp weather was not good, hence my question about the power breather as I have been thinking of getting one. Felt more than just a bad run (although I hadn't used my inhaler as I didn't think I'd need it).