*For those of you that didn't watch British kids' tv in the 80's, it's the Rainbow theme tune! Topical, because...
...it's Pride month! Has it always been a month? Goodness. I remember my tenancy used to always expire on Brighton Pride Weekend, that was an eye opener for my dad who came to help me lift boxes.
Anyway, I hope everyone is out there running happy and free and propelled by whichever sort of rainbows you feel suit you best. π
What are your running plans this coming week?
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Happy running!
Sqkr & roseabi
XXX
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Sqkr
Half Marathon
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I confess I found Rainbow a little sinister, but I'm always up for a bit of Pride πππ
Got not running plans this week or the next, unfortunately. Well, that is to say, I plan not to do any running! I've decided my dodgy Achilles needs a break (boo!), so cycling, swimming, and strength will be getting more attention (yay!).
Not many rainbows round our way today! Just unremitting, pouring rain. Monday is long run day for me though, so dropped the wee βun at school and off I trotted in my usual HM direction further north (gradual hills, more parks, less pollution). I was a drowned rat within minutes and not many people out and about - felt a bit more like a toxic 30 than 10 too. Eventually got going though, until I wound up around 10km away in Trent Country Park in Enfield. Iβd never been there before and was soon completely bloody lost, and trying to navigate around a never ending building site perimeter.
The inevitable happened as I traversed a muddy woodland hill way off the beaten track and I went flying βbottom over breastβ. Covered in mud but at least no one saw me! No injuries either, though it was a timely reminder to keep ICE details and a phone handy when running off piste.
I was still about 12km from home so no option but to plod on. I think I became a bit giddy as I carried on as I was so wet and muddy I was intentionally running thorough the soaking wet low hanging leaves to wash my face. π Felt great. Then Boz Scaggs βLido Shuffleβ came on the radio (I usually listen to R4 for the 1st hour running then switch to R2 for Popmaster and music to perk me up a bit) Thatβs a great running tune, and I was thinking as I squelched along comedically, exaggerating my stride: βI have no idea why I do this stupid running thing... BUT I BLOODY LOVE IT!!!β
TLDR: Ran 23km: got wet, got lost, got muddy, got happy. Enjoy your week everyone.
It is sunny here! We've swapped weather π It's amazing how music can affect a run. A cracking distance too!
Popmaster! Mr Sqkr and I sometimes play along to that π I can do the 80s and Britpop and he can do rap and Motown, but we're both utterly useless at anything from the 2000s.
It was only supposed to be 21 but I got lost! π In fact Iβd stopped my garmin while I checked google maps, and forgot to restart it until Iβd done my unceremonious pirouette into the gloop - so I reckon I was at least 24km. Feeling it a bit now to be honest!
Yeah, I reckon my pop knowledge stops around 2004... love a bit of Popmaster though. Trouble is I canβt properly keep track of my score while Iβm running.
I had a nightmarish long run on Saturday during which I lost my house key π. The change in my pocket was raining out of a hole in my pocket. I collected it up and realised my key had gone. I retraced my steps to look for it, but I couldnβt face rummaging about amongst the cow pats Iβd just run through. It had been a filthy mud slide through two fields full of cows π Just when you think things canβt get any worse they did! I got cow shite all over my hands as I had to climb a farm gate as the farmer had blocked off the stiles of the fields I was trying to get across π
My phone battery ran out so I couldnβt phone for help to get me back in the house. I decided to run/walk a further 8 k to get to my sonβs house in the hope he was at home I was schlepping towards his house when my phone rangπ€·ββοΈ Weird as I thought it was dead. Anyway he was IN π phew π . When I got there though there was a burst water main outside his house π€. I had to go for the water before I could get a brew βοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈπ°
I ran today and got absolutely drowned π¦π¦π¦π¦. I was ok though as I was near home and hadnβt got far to go. I had a lovely hot bathπ with a big cuppa βοΈ
Things are going well π with my new running plan for a month-end half marathon and a ten miler the following week
Have a good week everyone πͺπππββοΈπββοΈ
I can relate, having gotten lost on more than one occasional long run. Youβve reframed the whole experience to be thoroughly enjoyed! I also love running in the rain to my music. No face-plants outside of trail races (yet)
Oohh I'm doing that now too! Well base building before my milage upps properly at 12 weeks prior I guess. All new to me and October seems very, very close lol.
No I'm doing Bournemouth Marathon. I'm using the Polar heartrate training plan linked to my data but it is getting me to run really slow in zone 2 for a lot of my runs! It is scary to just trust it but everything I read does back it. Endurance and aerobic stamina is needed lol as well as slowly increasing miles and I need to practice some hills as good old Bournemouth put those in at mile 18 and 22! I am slightly terrified lol but we have time π€£π€
I know what you mean Tasha - I started my plan for Chester Marathon this week, and I just hope that like all distances up to now it will work out ok with a steady build-up and taper. Good luck with your plan - look how far youβve come, no reason to have doubt really is there?!! π€£ well thats what I tell myself anyway π
I believe time on feet is important rather than speed. So zone 2 makes sense. My plan for Chester Marathon in October is more basic and is just run x miles or time, but most of my long runs will be easy pace as normal, so hopefully zone 2/low zone 3. Good luck Claire π
Thank you! Yes I'm hoping time on feet is true lol. I'm surprised how much slower zone 2 is, especially compared to my 10k race pace but we are aiming for 4 times longer lol so slow and steady might really be the answer here. Your way sounds exactly like what I did for my half do should work. It just seems a huge distance at the moment but small steps.....
I was always a little concerned about Bungle for some reason π€£
Iβm proud that times have changed... I went to London Pride in 97 (I think it was) as the driver of the minibus so my gay and lesbian friends could enjoy the party. Then surprised them by marching with them... it said pride and I had a lot of that in my friends. Back then we took some abuse on the way round, and coverage of the event was minimal on TV... probably perhaps as well as my dad would have had a fit if heβd seen me on the news ππ. Great day, even enjoyed the Pet Shop Boys set on the common, which isnβt normally my taste to say the least.
So, either rainbow will do me, just keep Bungle away from me.
This week is my last 10k consolidation week... then itβs onwards to that HM. Iβm very excited about starting the next part of my journey... and yeah, Iβm proud of myself too.
I've started the week badly as I bailed out of running club run tonight due to the amber weather warning for the rain. Instead I did loads of boring household admin and listened to the thunder. I saw on facebook a few brave souls had done the run, complete with pics of flooded underpasses. Much of the route is along the river bank - I hope it wasn't in flood.
The forecast for tomorrow is dry so I MUST do a 10k run from home instead.
In other news, I am trying to work out how to broach the subject of me doing another HM with Mr L-L. Hmmm.
Still no running for me. I've had a gp referral to the musculoskeletal clinic though (fear of a stress fracture) and now have a date and time for a telephone appt with the receptionist there! That's next Monday. I'll be into my 5th week by then ... the wheels turn slowly.
On a more positive note, I've enjoyed three proper bike rides this week (and a short wobbly one that doesn't really count) - 88k in all. Not sure about cycling in the rain this week though, we'll see.
At the weekend I took a look at the T&Cs for the Oxford half I have booked in October - I thought it might be best to cancel it now and not stress about not being able to start a training plan on time. Sadly though there's no refunds, transfers or deferrals, and at Β£55 I will carry on stressing and hoping to be fit in time! I better keep up the cycling and (currently half hearted) strength work while I wait for a proper diagnosis and way forward
Whatever the weather, enjoy your runs folk - I'm more than a little bit jealous
Good job on the cycling Linda, keeping things ticking over. Also a good idea to be cautious in heavy rain though - running through rain is one thing, bike brakes are another.
That seems a little mean of Oxford! They have suddenly gone pricey too along with their ballot! Blenheim is cheaper but the atmosphere in Oxford is better or so my friend said! I hope you get your injuries sorted soon, you will be fine for Octobet though, you've done a half before so fingers crossed by August you can be running again.
I hope so. It's the irony of having to come back to running slowly ..... then rush through the training faster than I would otherwise π. Glad to hear the Oxford atmosphere is good though. The reviews aren't favourable since Virgin took it over, although in part that's possibly because the inflated price raises people's expectations!
Running slow supposedly helps you run fast π€£π€£ Yeah it is steep in price. My Marathon has cost less than that! (And October seems way too close for that! Lol)
Having a dig around I found this post and thought yes good idea - so - at the moment my plans for this week are to make some plans!!
A short recovery run tomorrow but I am starting to think about how I can go about introducing some hills into my runs. Too much running on the flat - which is kind of ironic given the hilliness all around me. This week might be too early to actually start this hence - to make some plans π!!
My runs last week weren't great, but I got most of my mileage done. I figure that it's better to get out there and do the distance, even if I end up walking a bit.
I was going to switch to 5 runs this week, but with my youngest's birthday today and tons of work, I'll have to stick to 4. I have a 10 k event on Saturday, so I hope I shake off last week's poor running form!
Who's seen Strava's rainbow run feature? Stick a rainbow emoji at the end of your run title, or write 'Pride' somewhere, and it makes your run route all rainbowy π
Strava; Iβve been meaning to write a post asking about it. What are the benefits and um, should I be on it basically?! Do people mainly use it for the social media aspect of it, following people etc? I have my Garmin and I used to use Runkeeper, but for some reason Iβve never signed up to Strava. Perhaps because of privacy concerns.
I use it because initially it was a way to connect with the three others who signed up with me to do our first event (only one of them now runs, and sporadically!) but stayed because I found it quite motivating to see everything laid out like that. I like using their route marking thing too.
There is a degree of privacy included (hiding your starting points, for example), and you can also have a private account. I did for a while, but Strava seems a lot less creepy than many other places so I relaxed the privacy.
I'd say the social media aspect is a big part of it! I find this can be a bit of a pain actually - I have set up a couple of Strava clubs related to HU, but I have decided not to feel pressure to contribute to them that often because I do quite a lot on here already. I do use Strava as my training/workout diary, and I sometimes wish there were a feature to occasionally make them private because I get comments on my notes that I don't necessary call for. However I'm not massively bothered - and if I were it IS possible to make the whole workout private - but also it is quite nice to share workouts with people and get their support and advice π Anyway I've been recording all my workouts on Strava for quite a while, though, so I'll stick with it. Strava does provide a way of masking the area around where you live on runs you share, if that's the privacy aspect you're concerned about.
All that said, it would be good if you made a post about this!
Waiting for rainbows in Sussex! I got very lucky with my 18 mile run Saturday and missed all the rain but we got it Sun and Mon.
I didn't sleep as well as I expected to Sat night so was knackered Sun at work and in bed by 8 sun night. Should really have run last night but more filthy weather and lingering tiredness meant I didn't. I have a lot to do this week pre-wedding but will get a long one in at the weekend regardless.
I did the 18 miles in 3hrs 15 moving... 3.45 all in. It was great. I almost didn't go but it was a great run and I was grinning like a fool in the final miles singing out loud regardless of everyone else out on the south downs way. Really pleased with my efforts and how far I've come.
I've a sports massage on Weds so I'll be interested to see how my overall condition is holding up. π
I'm still trucking along with my HM plan; the runs are all still short so easy to fit into my busy schedule. I finally found some information on the brand new trail race I'm running next month - it sounds like it isn't as hilly or technical as I'm used to so my plan for my long run this week is to run a portion of one of the loops at the lake that should be similar to what the race will be like - hills but not crazy steep and perhaps a "quicker"run? Time to explore a bit more and change things up a bit π
Happy Pride month! Itβs been business as usual for me. Had a nice 21 on Sunday morn. Iβve missed two consecutive Sat group long runs due to family commitments (what do you mean I cant run all the time?) , so Iβm trying to get them done on Sundays. Trying to work on my pace a bit too, but taking it carefully so as not to break anything :). Also trying to get the strength workouts more consistently.
I've lost my mojo a bit of late due to the (for us here in Finland) "hot" weather (25 deg). Just doing a couple of 5k jogs per week now to keep things ticking over. I really like running in minus degrees weather (no overheating). I really need to sign-up and pay for an event to get me motivated again! Pride week is always the week after Midsummer here in Helsinki. Always a hoot. π
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