I could press cancel and walk away from this post ....... but I wonβt.
Inspired by linda9389 βs post over on S&F about committing to her daily ankle/foot exercises, David_G βs kind offer to make me a personalised HM training spreadsheet in order to finish LEJOG4 with the HUHM at the end of March, and a message I got this morning from Runclusive allowing me to delay my virtual Bath Half until then (was supposed to be on March 14th), Iβve decided Iβm going to:
Run a Half Marathon on my local common. π³
And? You might be thinking .....
Well those of you who follow me on Strava have seen me doggedly doing RED January up there in all this weather. π¦π¨ Is it enjoyable? No, not in the slightest, but I like a challenge and I thought I might as well continue training there and cross the LEJOG4 finish line in style (although itβll definitely be highly unstylish and I can tell you right now it wonβt be a PB!)
All that, plus Iβll be being a good bunny and running local during lockdown. π
I could still press cancel and not submit this post ..........
Written by
cheekychipmunks
Half Marathon
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Well, Iβm glad you didnβt press cancel and submitted it cheekychipmunks ππ I hope you manage to follow the plan and finish LEJOG with your HM round the local park!πββοΈ Iβll be doing the same thing except Iβll be running around town and along the seafrontπββοΈππ Iβm confident mine wonβt be pretty or stylish but Iβm determined to finish LEJOG with my HMππ€Iβve even done a countdown spreadsheet which automatically compares my progress on LEJOG against the HM schedule Iβve set myself. Itβs got pretty colours and everything else I can throw at it!π€£
Your location sounds more inviting than mine David_G ! Unless I can preorder dry, still and just a bit cool weather for the preceding week. If I had to run 13.1 miles in todayβs conditions, I have no idea how long it would take me! π¦π¨π¦π¨π
Youβre spreadsheet king arenβt you? Iβm very impressed! πππ
Iβm very lucky to have the sea to run by Cheekychipmunks!πββοΈπ Itβs very relaxing when itβs raining and there are fewer pedestrians about, but in the sunshine it can be a bit tricky trying to avoid everyone! π£
I tend to run along the bypass then - not much to see so no-one but cyclists and other runners to contend withπββοΈπββοΈπ΄π΄ββοΈ
Iβm a Data Analyst by trade, so spreadsheets are kind of my βthingβπ€£ and sometimes I canβt help myselfπ
Youβve done it before cheekychipmunks and I know that you can do it again. Iβm not sure UpTheStanley will be joining you this time , but you never know. Well done for keeping up with RED in such appalling weather.
When I ran my first HM *with* UTS it was on the mostly flat towpath that I used to use for my long run training, plus that was in dry September. The common isnβt at all flat unless I go round and round in 0.5k circles, and it certainly isnβt dry! But yes Dexy, Iβll do it and the fact that Iβve announced it means I now have to keep accountable to all my lovely VRBs! π
Brilliant! How many laps will that be? You can set up a little aid station in one corner of the common (or maybe at the top of one of the hills? Maybe take a portapotty too πWill Flossie be running it with you?
It all depends on the weather in the preceding week Linda. If itβs dry it opens up so many more possibilities and I can fashion a 2k lap of the perimeter. If itβs like it was today Iβll need to stay up high, but thatβs only a 0.5k lap! I reeeeaallly hope it dries up! π€£
And yes, Flossie will definitely come! π₯°πΎπ
Well done for hitting submit! You are committed now & it will happen.
I'm still hoping that they ease the restrictions at some point in March, otherwise there will be a lot of us running in very small circles!
Although my interpretation of local is that if you start at home & get back to home and are roughly within a 7 mile Boris-bike ride, then it should be OK.
My problem is that I canβt run straight from home in this current lockdown Charlie, so I drive the mile to the common. My other routes are 5+ miles away. The first lockdown in March was different and the roads were deserted, but ours is a small busy country road, with no pavement. So the muddy trails it has to be for me! Itβll be a challenge. Iβve done 10 miles there before (and vowed never again!), but Iβll do it. π
You are one crazy chipmunk......but we have always known that!! I would join you virtually (honestly π) but I am still struggling. Calf seems ok one minute then off it the next. I had to walk up a hill on my new street route today to get my heart rate down....half a stone over weight and pausing for breath on a 5k...I am a wreck! I pushed on to 5.5k to make up for the walk.....anyway we will all be standing on the finish line ready to welcome you "home" from your HM. Hope the weather dries out!π
Yes, Iβm a nut. I remember vowing βnever againβ after my 10 miler there in the summer (when it was dry as a bone π³), but hey, I like a challenge. I might regret saying that! π
You are a morale boosting chipmunk too!! Thanks Cheeky! It was ok last week, so I didnβt take up my option for an appointment. If it carries on through the weekend I will make a booking on Monday. Oh for the days of a quick 10 miles, flat white and brownie, home for a shower and not so much as a twinge !
I'm glad you didn't press cancel cheekychipmunks because (a) you can do it and (b) we are all here to cheer you on. Well virtually anyway. Good luck πππͺ
Haha - glad you did not press cancel. Did you think for a second that this group would try to talk you out of it? π No worries we have complete faith in you. Go get that thing!!
Haha, no thereβs no one on here whoβd I expect to tell me itβs a bad idea Decker, only me! Iβll pick a (loooong) killer playlist and simply trot away. Thanks for your support! ππ»π
Thanks IP! Yes I do have to do it donβt I? Thatβs why I posted, to keep me accountable. The message about the Bath Half being slightly more flexible with the virtual run date was what made me decide. π
Hmmm - that time I did the distance the same day as you, the only time I've ever gone that far, Dexy5 paced me to 10 miles, and I don't see that happening again by the end of March. I haven't run further than 10k since the 2019 GSR, and the weather is definitely not inspiring me to go any further right now! So on you go girl .....πββοΈππ
You got this! Iβll be watching in awe as you finish RunLeJog4! Iβm in the same cohort and still in the South of England! π€£π€£ ππππ½πͺ
Thanks CBDB, I always vowed never to run more than 10k there, so of course I did 10 miles. I vowed never any further than that, and now Iβm planning my HM! But thatβll be IT! π€£
Amazing, you can do it! πͺπͺπͺ How do you cope with running long distances in your local common? I always get bored if I have to do more than 5k circling in a park, but I have to do it sometimes when my usual trails are too muddy or frozen π
Itβs a beautiful place to run Lazyfrog, and as long as you can deal with hills itβs easy enough to make up distance. Except, much as I enjoy hills, I donβt like to do loads of them on long runs so I do need to run some of the less hilly trails more than Iβd like! It all depends on the footing - bone dry or muddy makes a massive difference to my options ..... π€π€
Sounds like a great place to train π Yes, I am painfully aware now all the difference dry and rainy days can make... I think I didn't appreciate my summer runs and puddle-free trails enoughπ
I think it's a really good idea to finish in style...my daughter was traveling round India a few years ago and had to cut short her travels and return to the UK several months sooner than expected.. She decided to end the traveling in style by walking lejog and camping at night... It took 3 months of 'eat, walk, sleep, repeat' but she did it.... I've never seen her look so continuously happy! So.....Go for it and good luck.
Thanks Mormor. Your daughter must have been so disappointed to cut her travels short, but what a great way to make up for it! π
Iβve enjoyed LEJOG4 and now Iβm close to being less than 200 miles to go, the end is in sight. Ordinarily I wouldnβt tackle a long run on the common for numerous reasons (mud, hills, not a large space), but these are different circumstances and I thought, why not? π
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