Things are beginning to ease up just a little, but the running calendar is looking sparse 😶 Which leads me onto the cryptic picture...this little guy is the wee Mars Rover, Opportunity! Look at him there, boldly doing his thing in unknown but exciting new territory. Loads of us have had to think outside the box a bit, and there's still a bit of a glum air about the world, so I thought it'd be good to hear what opportunities you have embraced as a result of all this surprise virus business.
I cancelled my trip to the Athens Marathon last week...😥 but yesterday signed up for the virtual marathon here in Edinburgh! I'm not sure if I'll do it in one go, but am definitely toying with the idea. Virtual races aren't really my thing on the whole, and I had zero intention of doing the Edinburgh Marathon, but I thought why not? It helps out the organisers by taking a 2020 t-shirt off their hands, and now I'll get the full collection of Edinburgh necklaces! I'm actually really pleased about that, it charts my running journey beautifully. 2018 my first 10k, 2019 half marathon, now 2020 the marathon! A full EMF house.
Is there anything you have done or plan to do that perhaps you wouldn't have done if Covid hadn't turned everything on its head? And of course, get your usual chat in! Plans, glitches, thoughts...whatever's in your head, chat away!
As ever, if you're new here, or just taking a look and getting comfortable before posting, hello! This post is a great place to introduce yourself if you're ready to do so.
If you are interested, there are plenty of workouts you can do at home from the YouTube library over on Strength & Flex, why not take a look!
Love the idea of your full house collection of necklaces.Atb.
You made me laugh Sqkr,whatever’s in your head,chat away, he with the one lonely brain cell.🙈😂
Still fighting my way through my Bloomin June Quest which will turn out to be still in bloom July and August also.Thats just the short term plan on hedges.Looks like more Bloomin Quests maybe required also.
Come 1st Sept just have to get back to my bespoke C2FM.Just need to feed on the return I get from my trotting.
I wasn’t into virtual races but have done two😃. Better than nothing though in the circs for us race fans. I’ve incorporated them into my marathon training.
Sorry to hear about the cancelling, Squeak! That's great news about the Edinburgh marathon though - you can do it in one, go on go on go on... 😄
I am doing the 'reimagined' Milton Keynes half marathon I posted about a while ago. I actually don't like the look of the medal they are giving out, but I'm quite excited by the unusual idea of the event. I hope the app works on the day! But if not, at least I can combine it with a visit to the fam. 😊
As to things I wouldn't have done, this is not actually running (although a jolly good cross training strength work activity), but our local Lagoon Watersports really came up trumps for us! Because of the pandemic they've not been able to offer their usual sea windsurfing safety cover, so they have worked really hard to provide regular training clinics aimed at signing us off as competent to go out on the sea unsupervised! So I am now able to book and use their kit whenever I like, as long as the sea conditions are favourable, so hypothetically I can actually become a reasonable windsurfer this year!! It still seems impossible at the moment, but it's something to shoot for 😊😊😊
Running: I've been needing a bit of a break, but hoping to pick things up again this week!
Happy running and all the stuff xxx
I'm still out there running 3/4 times a week. I've run two Half Marathon's so far this month and am really enjoying running at a slower pace. All my runs are alone and without music which I prefer.
I will manage 100 miles over the month with my upcoming Wed and Fri runs included which I'm really pleased about, so I'm really in a positive running place right now 😊
Shame about your trip to Athens Sqkr and obviously the marathon. I hope your virtual Edinburgh marathon goes to plan.
Now that I've actually ran a HM on my own I'm more confident to take part in an actual event , whenever that will be. But for now I'm quite happy getting out there 4 times a week for my usual runs .
I’ve just looked the Dorset Ooser up. Looks a great trail half marathon to get races back again. I hope it stays dry for you as it sounds like it’s been a bit of a mud bath before.
Good luck with the virtual marathon Squeak - it has to be done for the sake of continuity 👍.
In theory I have Kew Gardens 10k in Sept and the organisers still say they think they can go ahead with it, then Oxford HM in October which may go ahead but is likely to be in a heavily altered form (laps of the park I suspect 🙄).
Covid hasn't affected my day to day routine as much as it has many people; however it has obviously cancelled parkruns, races and my 100k cycle event and therefore my training goals and schedules have been affected. There is an upside though - I've had more time to play around and had a go at a home grown Duathlon (the idea of a duathlon had been tempting me for a while); on the back of enjoying that, I entered one virtual duathlon and have another this Saturday. So far I have found them to be great fun, a new challenge! Not sure I'd have found the time for any of that if I'd stuck to my original schedule. If any of you cycling runners fancy (virtually) joining me on Saturday take a look: runnation.co.uk/r/virtual-s...
We visited Kew last week and I was thinking that if you took everyone away it would be a lovely place to run. Little did I know that they held events there Linda. I think it’s these little events that will do it this year. Have a wonderful time.
Wow Sqkr, a virtual marathon sounds like seriously hard work! All that way with no crowds to cheer you on. Good for you - you know you’ll smash it! 💪 👊
I’m still here, training for my almost certainly non-existent HM, but that’s ok. 😀
It’s entirely possible I wouldn’t have run that far again if I’d taken part in the Bath Half in March. As I ran it virtually, of course it didn’t properly count (aren’t we a weird bunch?), so I jumped on board the Autumn HM Group once again, and here I am, about to do my 10 mile long run tomorrow. 🏃♀️🏃♀️
I’m enjoying it. I’m definitely fitter and stronger, and dare I say a little faster, than last time round. All my trails have made my road running seem easier.
Exciting news is that Redcello41 and I are running a real life actual 5k race in Bath the weekend after next! All very socially distant, but the call of the bling was too strong! 🏅 👏👏
Hello Sqkr, Following my ski injury in March I spent the first 11 weeks of lockdown doing exercises and virtual appointments with my physio. Everything was going well and I slowly worked my way back to 5k. It was great to be back to running and meeting friends for (not) parkruns. My plan was to then work up to 10k for the New Forest Marathon weekend.
But I am now having problems with my left Achilles/ankle. Am now getting a bit fed up as I just want to run. My gym is back open but my Pilates instructors have been laid off and classes seem to be aimed at youngsters only with before and after work sessions. No classes during the day for us retired members. Back on my bike for exercise.
Sorry, I have coped with the restrictions well up to now but I really don’t like not being able to run. Physio appointment is next week.
Oh no! Aren’t there any virtual Pilates classes you could do Dexy? Although my Pilates classes returned weeks ago I’m still doing the virtual ones. I can send you the link if you get stuck....
Fingers crossed you can find some relief for the Achilles ☹️
I’m not very good at motivating myself to do virtual classes, but if you have one you recommend I can certainly try it out. I also like meeting up with the same group of people each week and sometimes having a coffee afterwards.
I’ve contacted my instructor and she is doing a session on Fridays on Facebook so I’m going to check that out this week. Not sure how it will work, looking at an iPad. After summer holidays she will be looking for other venues so I may follow her.
I started sweating at the mention of the Athens Marathon 🥵 blimey, that would have been hot! Good luck for Edinburgh, much cooler no doubt 🙂
I’ve become less anxious about increasing my weekly distance during lockdown on the basis of the logic “if something hurts then I can just ease back as I’m not training for anything”. This has worked pretty well even though I am now sort of training for my own virtual Bristol HM which needless to say has been cancelled.
A lovely 10 miles at the weekend and a 17K this weekend, all good thus far 🤞 Then I’m off to see my mum which will give me a “down” week”.
DEFINITELY wouldn't have entered the Marine Corp Marathon if it hadn't been changed to a virtual event
The cut-off time to get across the bridge before it opened to the public and an automatic elimination of any runner stuck in the wrong side would have been enough to put me off Then the huge crush of people surrounding the event - I could take being at the finish and getting out of the area quickly, but trying to navigate if you've dropped out in the middle would not be my cup of tea
So, the one good thing I can say about Covid - my very first FM attempt will be in a familiar area of California, Camp Pendleton, running with (far behind really lol) some great friends, some of whom I've run with at other events so we all know our capabilities :), and absolutely no "cut off" time and penalty to stress over
It will also give me the opportunity to find out if I'm even capable of a FM before the original - and so far not cancelled - "real world" FM in Texas in December. If I can make it it in anything like survivable shape at Pendleton, Texas will be a lot more fun than if it was the very first one. If I find though that I'm not capable to do it, I'll have fun being a spectator
It’s a shame about the Athens trip Squeak, but the Edinburgh full necklace set sounds very satisfying and I hope it all goes the way you want.
I’m just getting back from a couple of injuries and of course this weekend I tripped on a loose vine and split my hand and knee on a rock but its not too serious and I’m still able to run. I also realized I just missed a big iron rod sticking out of the trail so quite thankful it was not worse. The two leg issues set things back around 4-5 weeks on my plan, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get back up to full distance before my Sticks n Stones 50k in October, or if the race may even be cancelled by then, but really I am just happy to run in the woods again and I’ll probably go for it whatever happens. Covid has pushed me further afield of my usual routes and I’ve found some real gems as a result. So silver lining and all that... running with some friends lately has been quite nice too.🙂 Have a great week everyone.
Good plan about Edinburgh! I've signed up for the Oslo Marathon virtual half, and am definitely far from HM-ready, so I'll probably turn it into a forest outing, which means I'll have to run/walk.
I had to make an unexpected return to Oslo. I successfully hiked up the first of the two mountains I had planned. 700 m ascent up to 1850 m. But I developed a sore throat that morning, so following the national advice, I took a Covid test the next morning, and headed back home. Which meant having to cancel my plans for Norway's higest mountain. The test came back negative, and I'm almost all better from what was just a weird cold, so hopefully we'll head out again in the next few days.
I don't foresee any running this week, but hopefully some more hiking and some glaciers over the weekend.
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