Please tell us all about it! We love hearing from you 😍😍😍.
I’ve had two live events cancelled this year - one in April and one in May. It’s not looking too good for real half marathons this spring, so today we wanted to tell you a bit more about our plans for The Virtual HU HM spring 2021.
★ When?
The official event date and start time for the virtual HUHM spring 2021 will be:
Sunday 28th March at 9.30am
If you can make that date and time, you will have the added boost of knowing we are all on the start line together. We realise that might not work for everyone, so in order to give greater flexibilitywe will accept runs from any point during that week of Mon 22nd - Sun 28th March. EDIT: date change (well all the biggest events have changed their dates - why not us too?) - the main event will be on Sunday 28th March as originally planned but will remain open until Sat 3rd April rather than being open the week before).
★ Where?
Anywhere you like (so long as you don’t breach any lockdown rules in your local area)!!!
★ How will it work?
Record your run as normal using your watch or your phone app - whatever you would do on a training run. This will be the official record of your run. You can submit your time and run report to HU after the event.
We will rank everyone - based on how close your finish time is to a random time we will generate (in a fair and impartial manner) after all results are in!!! Massive kudos to the winner!
We will create a VRB HUHM Spotify playlist - which you can take or leave depending on your listening preferences!
We also hope to provide a unique audio soundtrack for your run! At this point please don’t think West End Musical, think amateur dramatics. This won’t be in the league of the virtual London Marathon app or the virtual Winter Run app; it will be no rival to a Nike Run Club guided run! But it might be fun and it will most certainly be a distraction!!!
We are currently planning to set this up using an app called RunGO (unless anyone knows of a better solution to provide a soundtrack which is distance activated); the RunGo app is absolutely free and you won’t need to register an account or hand over any personal details to access it - but you will need to run with your phone. It will aim to take you round a well known Half Marathon course, with added soundbites to make it a ‘unique HU experience’.
★ What do you need to do right now?
We want to ask three things of you:
Keep training - of course!
Let us have the names of just two music tracks that you would like featured in the playlist (track name and artist please). Pop these suggestions in the comments below or send me a message via the HU chat facility.
Give us a ‘sound bite’ suggestion for the soundtrack. Something to keep your VRB going!!! This should take about 10-15 seconds to read aloud; it may be a ‘funny’, or a motivational tip, or something you like to remind yourself of about your running form, or maybe a mantra, or a helpful bribe to get you through the tough times …. anything you can think of that might help a fellow VRB make it to the finish line in one piece, feeling strong! Rather than putting these ideas in the comments below, please could you send them directly to me as a message via the HU chat facility? Send as many thoughts as you like!!!
The aim is that we all be running this event together, in as far as possible. Sharing the same experience. It might not work, but let’s give it a try!!! If anyone has any additional suggestions do let us know!
In the meantime, keep training, keep having fun and let us have your suggestions !!!
We went into a lockdown 10 days ago, no outside exercise, only shop for essentials once per week. This has played havoc with my distance program however I have managed some local runs. Where I am is very hilly but I managed 10k yesterday with some car park circles and running round the middle of the village. I have never had such hard runs as normally run on the flat so this has really been tough training and I hope will make up for the lack of distance. I was up to 15k prior to this and felt like I could do more so I think I am still good for a March virtual HM. If that goes to plan I may try the Virtual Milton Keynes one too!
Oh that sounds really tough! Not sure how no outdoor exercise and 10k hilly runs works, but it's great that you've found a way to keep your fitness up. Sounds flippin' hard work mind!!! As an alternative to the Milton Keynes virtual, you could always consider the Cambridge virtual HM - Charlies1 has set up an HU team and that one can be run on any date in March. Here's a link to his original post healthunlocked.com/marathon...
That's exciting news about the HU half marathon, should be OK to do that. And my HM medal arrived last week (incredibly heavy!) so I definitely need to earn it now
I got to 9 days on my run streak before deciding that I needed a rest day yesterday - legs were starting to get a bit tight and I don't want to end up injured. Interesting though - I have learnt that run streaks, at least at my level of running experience, need to be done just doing the minimum mileage each day rather than mixing in with longer runs. It's also encouraged me to be a bit more strategic in planning my total weekly kilometres so I don't go over 10% increase as I'm aware my training profile has been a bit erratic, fitting in longer weeks when I can which tend to leave me a bit tight and sore and needing to cut back.
Anyway, back to normal training now, probably some intervals today and as long a run as I can fit in on Sunday.
Well done on your running streak. I have probably run back to back once or maybe twice in all the time I've been running. I manage to get injured regularly without throwing a run streak into the mix sadly! Listening to your body is the main thing - so well done!How exciting to have the medal ready to go!
Have a think of any message you'd like added to the soundtrack, or tracks to the playlist, and let me know! Happy training!
Yes, I knew it was sensible to stop but had a bit of a tussle with my inner perfectionist who hates to step away from a challenge! But with spring coming I really don't want to be getting injured and my legs were getting tighter each day.
I'm afraid my HM plans have been put on hold. Between my foot playing up and the snow, I'm averaging about one run a week 😔 the longest run I've had since Christmas was 4k, so I'll be lucky if I'm back running 10k by March! I will be cheering everyone on though and hope to get to do a HM sometime in the autumn 🤞
Ahh, my sympathy! It's so frustrating, but you're doing the right thing. You're not the only one injured, so I may have a look at a walking version (less distance, similar time) or an option to do it in smaller chunks - over say 3 or 4 separate runs. Will see how it goes, but it would be nice to have something suitable for everyone. The full half marathon will happily wait for you til autumn - by then we might even have some live events 🤞Take care of the foot and you'll get there.
Sorry this is going to be too early for me now. May is my earliest possible date for a HM, some health problems, a dodgy knee and now mountains of snow, just waiting for the big melt to happen so I can restart my HM plan. I’ll come along virtually though to cheer you all on 🤗
We'd love the support but sorry to hear you've been so challenged! As I replied above I may have a look at a walking version (less distance, similar time) or an option to do it in smaller chunks - over say 3 or 4 separate runs. Will see how it goes, but it would be nice to have something suitable for everyone. Take care and look after that knee. Here's to sunshine!!!
Hi Linda, Great idea, I would like to take part please.
I will also be doing the Cambridge HM in March, there are currently three of us in the HU team. If anyone wants to earn a T-shirt and medal, then come and join us. 2 half marathons for the ‘price’ of one!
Oh wow! What a great idea! Now, can I do two HMs in two weeks? 🤔 I can give it a go! At least there won’t be much training needed for the second one! Any distractions gratefully accepted!
Two music tracks: Mr Blue Sky - ELO and Jogging - Richard Dawson (this song needs promoting, it’s wonderful!)
I’ll try to sort the other thing and let you know...
Hi Linda This is such a brilliant and inspirational idea I absolutely love it I'm guessing you guys in Admin have been working hard to put it together, so thankyou x
But like two of VRB above I won't be anywhere near that distance by then. I've decided to work slowly back to 10k following my knee problems aiming for a virtual 10k at Easter, and then , fingers crossed , move on to longer runs which I was loving before Xmas.
I will definitely run on the 28th cheering and following you guys with a lot of walking .
Please, please can we have another one scheduled for later in the year, even if live runs restart it will always be good to run virtually with all the lovely people on here.
I'll keep following your group posts if that's OK as there's so much to be learnt.
Oh no, more injury! More frustration! Reading the replies you are in good company, not that helps very much. If this one works OK there's no reason why we can't do something similar in autumn too. But also, I may have a look at a walking version (less distance, similar time) or an option to do it in smaller chunks - over say 3 or 4 separate runs. Will see how it goes, but it would be nice to have something suitable for people who've been on the IC. Watch this space, and keep taking it easy.
Woohoo Linda, how exciting! 👏👏👏 Unlike superhuman TailChaser , I won’t be running 2 HM’s in quick succession, but I’ll be combining my virtual Bath Half with HUHM. 😀 And, if it’s ok with you, I’ll be picking and choosing my actual date based on weather conditions as mine will be a 100% trail HM and I don’t want mud or too much wind. 😳 I’ll hope for the 28th, but it might need tweaking! 😅
Great idea having a special playlist and soundbites! 🎶 I’ll work on those. 😀
I love HU! Thanks for all the fun. We need it don’t we? 🙏🏻🥰🏃♀️🏃♂️❤️
Totally OK to run on a different day but let's cross fingers that 28th March is ideal weather for all concerned .. we surely deserve it after all the mud, wind and more of the last few weeks? Look forward to receiving your suggestions 😊
You’re doing on trails cheeky, that’s pretty hard going and super impressive. I’ve got it easy by comparison! I’ve also got to compete with Mr super duper human Katnap who now eats sub 2 hr HMs for breakfast!
Thanks for this linda9389 . I've noted the date(s) in the hope that I'll be able to fit in a HM then. I imagine 9.30am is UK time? Not that it matters much!
I'd need to think about possible music tracks as a lot of what I run to wouldn't necessarily be appreciated by many people! Not sure my sense of humour would work for the soundbites either 😜
As for training - I've pretty much put running on hold this week as I've got loads of work, the weather is horrid and we're under curfew 18.00hrs-06.00hrs. I had a decent week last week though - ran my fastest-ever 5k and did a total of 32.7 km, 805m elevation gain, average pace 6:42 /km.
I really should try to get out later today or over the weekend though 😳
That's the great thing about a community playlist - broadens the mind! I hadn't thought about the international aspect - good point. As you say it doesn't really matter so adjust as suits you best 😅 Whatever else is going on, I'd say you had an awesome running week last week! Brilliant!!! A few days rest were well earned and have probably done you the world of good 👍
Ok, I’m going to expose my cheesy side ..... apologies to all the kool kats on here for my appalling choices - you can think of me when they’re playing, but I love them! 😳
Ah what a dilemma. My HM plan has me doing “the race” on 7th March. Do I coast for a few weeks or go for my 1st and 2nd HM with a 3 week gap? Hark at me, I haven’t managed the first one yet 😂
Ahah! Life is full of decisions! I did my first ever half marathon event on 24th March, the next on 14th April and the third on 19th May. However, I did end up with a stress fracture of my foot so not sure that's something to aspire too!!! I was 'racing' all three mind you, which you wouldn't necessarily have to do - you could run your first HM distance as a training run, then your next three weeks later as a race. But the main thing is that no decisions need to be made right now, so stick with that plan!
I'd love to join. Was aiming to run my first HM easter weekend but a count of weekends does make the Sunday before possible. Music tracks would be Justified and Ancient - KLF featuring Tammy Wynette and Club Tropicana-Wham
Hi Linda9389 and running friends. I’ve had a couple of days off running this week, one was a rest day on my plan and the other was down to work commitments.🙁
My plan is still going well and I’m on target for the HM at the end of March🙂🤞 I haven’t enjoyed the strong biting winds on the south coast🥶❄️ but at least the snow and ice seem to have disappeared for now. Hopefully the forecast is correct and things will warm up a bit over the next week. I’ve got Thursday and Friday off work and I don’t work on Wednesdays either, so I’ve got plenty of flexibility to fit my runs in👍
Good luck everyone, enjoy it and have fun!🏃♀️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♀️
Right, realised if I'm going to do this I need to worked out my training plan (also covering some of my run club challenges) for this - made up my own to reflect where I've got to so far and where I need to go. I've not mentioned daily yoga and stretching.
I love a plan!!! Just a thought, if there are no run clun challlenges, maybe skip the 17k run in week four and cut that back a bit to give you a recovery week. You should easily still make the 18k the following week, but will have given yourself a bit of valuable repair time . You know yourself best, but cut back weeks every four weeks are very useful 😊
Yes yes yes! This sounds so much fun! 4 weeks is hopefully enough time to regroup after my virtual Leicestershire half on 28th Feb. That race officially is postponed until 18th April, but given how many events after that date have already been cancelled I think it’s unlikely to go ahead. If it does we’ll get to see if I can do 3 HMs in 7 weeks 🤪
I’ve spent a while trying to pick two songs and it is HARD so might have to get back to you on that! Maybe I can incorporate a lyric from another into my sound bite instead 🤔
Four weeks should be a good recovery time! The HU HM could be a slow easy one and you could still win!!! If you're struggling with just two tracks let us have more and if we have space, as seems likely just now, we can use them all!
Self praise is no praise I know BUT......I just checked this weeks leaderboard and am quite impressed with my elevation to distance ratio! My hills are tough but until I saw this I did not realise how tough! Feel a lot better for not getting my distance in and long runs. Another week hard lockdown just announced
I'd say self praise can be very hard! Your elevation must be extremely hard!!! And an extended extreme lockdown, beyond hard!!! Massive well done, those climbs will easily compensate for distance 💪👍
Oh no! I went for a supposedly dry ride the other day and got utterly soaked; I think forecasters should be paid on commission when they get it right - they may try harder then 🤪 (with apologies to any meteorologists reading this).Physical jerks, oh my - what a thing to look forward to 😆
I got soaking wet and chilled to the bone fairly recently. Fortunately I was doing an out and back - about 10k all in - so not that far from home. Miserable experience for sure 😞
I saw a cyclist on my run yesterday and his face was bluey purpley red from the icy blast, it’s worse on a bike int it I got some extreme weather face cream from my niece for Christmas but it’s all gone already Note to self to get some more
Definitely not too late to join! Welcome!!! I just received a request to join the strava club- is that you? If so I'll accept you into the club too. Are you working towards a specific event or joining us for our virtual?
Hi yes that’s me! I want to do the Reading half in November ideally but I have no plan and need to sort my right knee/hip pain I get when I run , I’ve done 2 10ks so far 😊
That's a good goal to aim for, and gives you time to prioritise the knee/hip pain issue. I'd say you probably want to get on top of that before extending your distance any more - the further you run, the more likely it is to find any weakness or issue. Just looking at your last two posts I see you've been (rightly) advised to watch how much you run each week - this becomes ever more important as you increase distance. You also mention running shoes - yes, when running regularly at this distance, proper running shoes are essential!!! Any make that is comfortable for you, but they must be designed for running. If there is still a problem after addressing those two things, then a trip to a physio (when that is possible) would be the best way to pinpoint your issue, but you may find a sensible plan and the correct shoes are all that it takes. Good luck and speedy healing 😊
Ah! Seen a few comments about the VHUHM but didn't find the post until now.
Count me in please and thanks for organising this.
I'll probably run this concurrently with the Cambridge virtual HM, although I could probably fit that in earlier in March.
As for tracks, a lot of the music I listen to is probably overkill (to name one of the tracks). How about Runnin' Down a Dream from Tom Petty, came across that when looking to increase my cadence. For the other one, I'll go for Black Bottle Blues from Spacehobo. Hopefully that's acceptable and it seems to be available on Spotify (I use Deezer).
Speaking of which: I'm tempted by the Bristol HM. It's two weeks after Bath and a month before the Yorkshire FM. On balance, think it might be better for me to focus on the FM by then and I'm not sure I'd be doing it for the right reasons. Maybe I should see how things are going nearer the time (although it will probably have sold out by then). Alternatively, I could just have a few beers instead.
Ok I think I'm going to try and get to do HU half on 28th. I'm going to make a concerted effort to carve more time out for longer runs (finding it hard on Sundays as everyone else is still working on farm and I feel guilty taking more than an hour out even though I work at other times instead) If I write down my intentions it might happen more as everyone else can work round me 😂😬 I'll think of songs but the funniest one that popped up on a running playlist for me lately was X ambassadors 'Unsteady' crooning "hold on, hold on, because I'm a little unsteady" just as I was picking my way over a bad ice patch 😂
Haha! How timely!!! It can be tricky finding time for the longer runs, but they're important and so are you! Be kind to yourself, let's have you on that start line 😊
Forgot to come back with my song ideas....Believer by Imagine Dragons and Flo Rida- Good Feeling, both on my playlist from doing c25k so always just make me want to run when I hear them!!
Hi Linda - thank you for the updates. I'm not sure if I will be ready - I will be on week 10 of my HM plan that week and the total plan is 12 weeks. I have got behind with my runs due to the weather over the past couple of weeks. I could see how I feel that week or just aim for your next virtual HM if you think that would be better. 28th March is my son's birthday - he's a runner so he might be up for birthday run with me! Thanks for organising the HM.
We absolutely don't want you to push yourself for the virtual HM! If you're ready that's great, but if not we will probably put together an option to do it in several shorter chunks to make up the full 21.1km - that might suit you better. No need for decisions just yet though. A run with your son on his birthday sounds great.
Thanks Linda. I will def want to do the 'shorter chunks' version if I'm not quite up to doing the full 21.1. Will see how I go over the next few weeks - and hopefully the warmer weather will stick around and I can complete my weekly runs. 🤞
Hi Linda - this is probably a dumb question but ... in my HM plan there are runs such as run 7 M with 4 M at HMP. Does this mean that I should run the 3 miles that are not at HMP faster or slower than HMP? Thanks in advance!
No questions are dumb! I would imagine the rest of the run should be at an easy pace. Do you have any runs in the plan which are specifically speed runs?
No - there are no speed runs in the plan - just 3 runs a week - one short/easy, one longer which then becomes longer with hills, and the the final long run. I have sometimes done a NRC interval run instead/additional because of that. Runner's world plan: runnersworld.com/uk/trainin...
Thanks Roseabi. I'm not sure what my HM pace will be. I was aiming for 7 min pace when I did a 10k a few weeks ago and ended up running 6.49 average. I was thinking that the HM pace would be around 8 mins? I'm not very good at judging pace when I run! I usually just listen to the audio updates that I get every half km on strava.
There are calculators out there (e/g. runnersworld.com/uk/trainin... ) that will help you predict based on other distance times. To be taken with a pinch of salt, but they give you an idea. Your first HM will always be a PB so take it easy and enjoy it. Having said that I'm almost certain you'll run it quicker than an 8 min pace, but it's a great place to start.
Thanks Linda - I quickly checked out a pace calculator this morning but I'll have a proper look over the weekend when I have more time. Work was a bit too busy today! TGIF tomorrow. 🙌
My last long run was 13.5km on 19th Jan. Unfortunately I've only been able to manage 5km runs since then. I'd just love to take part, it sounds like great fun, but I'm not sure if I can build back up to the hm distance in time for 28th. 🤔
Linda, can you remind me which shoes you purchased when you replaced your saucony ride iso? I remember thinking I might try them. My memory is worse than my counting ! 😂😂
😅 I moved to Hoka Cliftons. I see on their website that they offer a 30 day returns policy, so if you didn't like them you could possibly get your money back. Do check that for yourself though in case I read it wrong!!!
I won’t be ready to run a hm by the end of March. The race I was scheduled to do at the beginning of June has been changed to a virtual run or I can move the inscription to the following year (the 2nd option is the most likely). There has been a lot of snow/ice as usual and I’ve just been running 5k regularly. I will try to find a fall hm and start doing longer runs in March or April. I will cheer all of you on!
Not to worry, sounds as though the weather is really against you! I'm sure we will have more of these events. PM us a cheer we can add to our soundtrack 😊😊😊
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