How are you getting on with your half marathon training? Tell us all about it!!!
★ Quite a few of you have said you can't make the date for our Virtual HUHM on March 28th so we would like to know:
If we include a 10K option for the event who would be interested in doing that instead?
😍 Also, remember to keep your playlist requests and pep talks coming!
I had a fabulous experience on my long run this Tuesday! I was coming back down the hill - a lovely stretch of about 4 km which I was really enjoying - when I spotted ahead a long queue of people waiting to go into a shop. The people were socially distancing of course, taking up the whole pavement, and even standing in the road so I started to think about slowing down and walking round them safely. But then a couple of the people noticed me charging towards them, and they all suddenly arranged themselves so that I had space to run through them - it was like the sort of tunnel of spectators we used to get at race events, and it felt amazing!! Needless to say I gave them all two thumbs up, a big grin, and a "thanks everyone!" 😊😊😊 Who else has been having fun with hills recently?
★ I have seen a few things online this week I found interesting and useful, and I thought I would share with you today - and there's definitely a joy of hills theme!!!
★ Is Walking Up a Steep Hill More Efficient Than Running Up It? This article from Runner's World discusses some new research that found that it depends upon the type of hill and the fitness of the runner, but generally a mixture of walking and running is best! runnersworld.com/news/a3519...
★ Hate Speedwork? Get Fast Without It is a nice little piece from Runners Connect which also discusses the benefits of hill work, amongst other things runnersconnect.net/hate-spe...
NB for those who don't like mention of speed - read it as 'efficient running' instead!
★ Strength workouts!Any fans of Better Call Saul out there? Bob Odenkirk is a self-confessed couch potato, but he had to get in shape to do an action movie 😂 I am very impressed with his results and I am going to give these circuits a try!
★ Rounded shoulders? Sore Neck? Dowager's Hump? I have actually been doing this for a couple of weeks now, and I'm not sure if it can actually fix a Dowager's Hump, but it has really helped me with my stiff, sore neck and shoulders! Takes just a few minutes.
I had a similar experience with people making way yesterday when I was back on my home trail. Whether I was approaching from in front or behind, walkers just parted to let me through, with the odd encouraging comment thrown in. One of the reasons I like trails so much; walkers are kindred spirits.
So do I. Folks round me are ace. Always friendly, smiling and supportive. Even the ones I meet dog walking in foul weather when there’s no sane people about 😁
"You'r doing great" is a compliment I have heard from people when I am running past them, it's happened several times over the almost 3 years that have been running, the first time was when I ran run 3 of week 5, the latest was just last Friday when I ran my slowest ever 5K, mainly because of the snow and ice on my route, so far I have never had a nasty comment shouted at me when running.
People are usually kind to we mature runners. One lady on the Isles of Scilly stood in the middle of the road and clapped me!! Only had sarky comments twice; older blokes walking with their OH’s who promptly shut them up with a comment on their lack of fitness! Smile and run on !!🙂
It was a tough 15k this morning - I dug deep and completed my plan, so all is well. Just now having to take care of my big toe which for some reason gave me jip! Resting now over the weekend in the knowledge that my upper body strength is improving. On to 17k next week.
Hi roseabi and HM friends! I’m still on track for my HM at the end of March. I ran 15K on Wednesday, 5K on Monday and yesterday and 6K today. 🙂You might remember a few weeks ago my work Parkrun club organised a 5K relay. There were 7 teams of 3 runners each.🏃♂️🏃♀️🏃♂️ We’re doing the same again tomorrow and I’m leading off for my team with a 5K along the seafront at Bognor Regis. I hope this wind dies down a bit by then!🌬😳 Wish me luck!😊🤞🍀
Thank you for this message....lots to come back to read through......interested in the hill options living in Wales! Laughed out loud at the Saul link! Yes big fans here so will look at that one!!! I find everyone is really interested and friendly to us running, and as we can only exercise from front door here it has been great meeting neighbours from village to get to know them. Here a neighbour is anyone in the village (very wide distances!!!) I have no idea if I'll be ready for hm but I'm trying! Nearly wrecked it all trying the strength training from a womens running podcast, but learnt to introduce stuff gradually 😬 ouch ouch ouch. This week I have done 6k, 7k and will attempt 12k on Sunday. I'm following a runners world novice plan.
I’m still happy with the HM option on the 28th roseabi , whatever the weather (😳). The only tweak I’m going to make is going out as soon as it’s light enough, as I want to avoid the throngs of people who descend on the common at the weekends.
The weekend crowds aren’t as courteous either. The locals that I tend to see daily with their dogs are lovely (most of them!) and we exchange “mornings”, or weather-related comments.
I have 10 miles planned for either next week or the week after (100% weather dependent), then my first March HM on the 14th. Believe me, if there was no bling involved in the virtual Bath Half I wouldn’t be running 2 trail HMs! Not a chance! 😳🙄🤣 I’m looking forward to them both though - and no, they won’t be fast! 🤣
I just had a look, thinking I'd do a "real" HM... ie not just playing out for several hours but actually do it quickly... but I'm working that Sunday. Maybe the Sat, just for kicks 🤔
Great to hear of your positive experience whilst out running roseabi ! I often run on the road to give walkers their space and they are usually thankful and acknowledge me as I run by! I have raised a few smiles recently whilst on my muddy trail runs, gathering a range of expressions(perhaps disbelief!😉)and smiles from folk as I (carefully) splash through puddles whilst they hang on to their dog or as I try to stay upright through the mud!😂
Interesting debate about hills. If it’s a gradient I can manage (gentle! ) then I will run them but when they get really steep - then like many, it makes more sense to run /walk! I am sure I have run hills more slowly than I could walk them, out of pure stubbornness!🤷♀️
Still hoping to be ready for the HM that weekend, although I may run it a little later than 9:30. 😴
I am interested in what it says about running being better than walking for the calves! Although there are a couple of roads in Brighton I would never try to run up for the sake of my poor Achilleses. They really do come under the category of "too steep to run" though I think.
Today I did my first speed run in ages! It was hugely challenging! Are you supposed to stop completely between intervals? I was following a NRC intervals workout, and it didn't specify what recovery was? So I ended up stopping fully for probably half the recovery period each time, before breaking into a slow jog before the next one started. I did this in the park (to avoid traffic lights) and got some looks I tell you! Mostly encouraging (I hope!).
Recovery intervals are generally taken at a light jog, but you do need to recover enough to be ready to run again, so walking is also fine. It's generally best to keep moving though, if you can!
Ha, I do wonder what people are thinking sometimes when I'm interval training! There was one time then I was doing some hill repeats and kept passing the same man who was walking up the hill as I was going down. The third time I passed him he said to me: "I've seen you before!" 😂
Hi everyone, it’s been a stop start week for me. I set off way too fast on my tempo run on Monday and ended up not being able to run the full half hour. I’m thinking of switching my runs around as it kills me on a Monday, maybe do my intervals then instead.
NRC just stopped working on my Wednesday run so my planned intervals turned into a leisurely 5k.
I usually do my long run on a Friday but was too busy so doing it tomorrow instead. I normally have a couple of well earned beers on a Friday but 12 miles tomorrow so I’d better not! Happy running everyone 😃
P.S I’m a big fan of Better Call Saul too. Not often a spin off is arguably better than the original. Frasier springs to mind as another.
I'm still hoping to do a HM on 28th March roseabi , and also to combine it with a spot of charity fundaising. More of that later if it all works out.
Round here a friendly "Bonjour!" and a smile are pretty much obligatory, whether from me or those I'm running past. It's entirely possible, though, for me to run for an hour or even more and see nobody.
As for hills, I've been a bit mad this week (only this week?! 😜) and have managed 1016m elevation in three runs (18.33k, 11.04k, 16.14k) over five days.
I'm now starting to feel it and it's probably just as well that my work schedule means I'll be running very little or not at all next week.
PS Just realised that I started C25K exactly nine months ago yesterday. I'm a little bit gobsmacked at myself!
Thanks Sandraj39 , I really appreciate that. I still struggle to believe that I'm actually running, let alone covering reasonable distances and even enjoying it.
I had a lovely run on the downs today and everyone I saw waved, smiled, or said hello. I haven’t had a long run like that in quite a while and it was lovely. 😊Right now mind you I’m broken down on the side of the road in the rain. ☹️ I could probably run home from here if I hadn’t already run today 🤔😅
All going good, cutting back on my long run this weekend with a plan to tackle 18k + next, 4 weeks before the big one, definitely appreciating the milder weather 🙌.
Went out for my long run this morning. It was a run of two halves or, if you want to be picky,10/12’s. My plan said 12 miles so I set my alarm for 6 (on a Saturday! What have I become?) and headed off. The first 10k was lovely, light rain, and I plodded up and down random streets in the general direction of where I wanted to go. That’s my favourite type of run by far, finding shops and parks I didn’t even know existed. Just having a nose as my mother would say!
As I said, 12 miles was the target but I’d, optimistically, downloaded a HM from NRC, just in case I had anything left in the tank. As I turned at the halfway point I was fairly confident I’d finish the guided run. Then it all started to go wrong! The light rain became monsoon like and I realised I’d be running into a driving wind all the way home. The conditions were so bad that a passing runner and I just laughed hysterically at each other as we crossed.
I quickly revised my run estimates downwards, the 12 miles would be enough, then, actually matching my last run (10 miles) will be fine before finally pondering if there is such a thing as a metric half marathon 😂.
The gremlins started drowning out Coach B. 8k to go, flipping heck that takes me nearly an hour, I cannot run for another hour! Long story short (too late), I made it to 10 miles, so I didn’t feel like I’d regressed from my last run. I then had a nice 3 mile walk home in torrential rain, feeling very sorry for myself. Never mind, I’m already feeling better and choosing to blame the conditions. On a positive note, repeating a couple of week aligns me more with the HUHM date.
Happy running everyone, watch out for those puddles 😀
Training is going well. I completed my first half marathon distance today in week 11 of the training plan. There was a bench near the end, so sat for a few minutes, and couldn’t walk when I got up again - wobbly legs! Hopefully I’ll be in better shape by the end of March!
I find most walkers quite friendly, usually get a hello, a smile and wave. Today a young guy stopped to give some encouragement as a ran by. I really appreciated it, it gave me a smile and kept me going! I would never think of doing that as I pass a runner myself, but maybe I should!
I’m a big fan of better call Saul, so I’ll take a look at the videos.
Having got to the HM distance, I have a cut back week next week, but need to think about the best plan as we approach the 28th. Do I go for long runs on 6 & 13, and then cutback on 20, ready for 28? Do you have any advice on the best approach to tapering?
Hi shug. I was back out this morning on Stoney End (as I call it). Just a short one today. I got rotten stitch on the way back. A dog came to sympathise with me 😁 and he gave me such a fuss as I was writhing in agony His paw prints all over my clean pants 🐾 🐕🙂. Not had stitch for ages I think I was hungry
Running going fine. Need to get back to strength stuff now my hand is better
Hi roseabi's, I love the story of your run I bet that left you and a lot of those people smiling ☺. Not quite as dramatic as yours but my run yesterday was full of Mums trying to entertain their kids with muddy walks. But they were all happy to move aside grabbing wayward toddlers and dogs to let me through. More surprising was a guy in a car who slowed down as his traffic light turned to green and indicated that I could run across in front of him. 👍I'm definitely up for the virtual 10k it would be great I'd planned to run along to keep you all virtual company anyway.
I've only just got round to reading the articles in your links they make interesting reading. As I've worked on my running I thought I'd find walking up hills easier, there's a few on my regular dog walk. I've found that the thing that makes a difference when I'm walking is keeping my centre over my hips and not leaning forward, such a simple thing but I find makes a big difference . Before my knee issue I was really enjoying the challenge of running up them as well, so I'm looking forward to getting back to that.
I also love the idea of the just running fast at the end of a run for 30 seconds 👍🏃♀️
Training a little mixed at the moment. This week has been good with the successful 15k long run yesterday. However, due to a minor surgical procedure I had to skip some runs the previous week so I am one week behind plan. My current hope is to complete HM on 28th March but might need change plans completely if I need more surgery. 🤞🏃🏽♀️
Not sure if I mentioned this or not, I've been following a HR zone training plan, but my watch had a brain storm, and had me running slower and slower in zone 2, my last long run was at 11 mins per km, slower than walking pace. I covered 12 KM in TWO hours. I got on to Garmin, this is a problem they know about, and talked me through a reset. It seems to be working better now, but I think a certain amount of damage has been done to my running pace, I now can't get any speed up at all, even on interval runs.
I'm sticking with the plan, the runs over the next weeks ramp up quite considerably, but I'm just running at what I think is a conversational pace, not at stupid slow paces like those suggested by the watch.
My virtual HM is scheduled for 21st March, I reckon I'll be lucky if I can complete it in less than three and a half hours, (thank you stupid watch) but I think I can finish it if I don't expire of boredom on the way round...
Thank you Roseabi. It's getting better every run. I'm not worrying too much about this HM, if I get round that'll be enough, then I'm going to start a different plan for the real HM in October.
I’d be up for a 10k ! Went on my first run in 4 weeks yesterday - 6.5 km jeffing 60:30. Was good, better than expected, but HM plan still on hold. I got to 10miles before but it was hard work. I don’t want to attempt to get to HM by end March - feels too soon, but you never know !
I'm a bit whacked today after a 5 mile tempo run followed by a 7.5 mile jog followed by a 14 mile bike ride on consecutive days. Rest day tomorrow for sure.Could definitely manage a 10k at the end of March as doubt I'll be HM ready.
I have my Chelmsford virtual HM on March 9th so I'll have to see how I recover from that. I did 10 miles today for the Chelmsford practice run, actually about 17k - very slow, about 25% walking, but I was a bit shocked to be so hot, it was 14 degrees and sunny, and I was stripped down to a T-shirt with my other layers tied around my middle. Anyway if I don't feel up to another HM by the 28th I'll try for the 10k.
I won't get a longer one run before the 9th now so I'll just have to carry on with hills and intervals, and see how it goes on the day. My legs were still working when I got home after 17k, so that's something!
People are almost always friendly around here but then I'm in rural Suffolk, or occasionally Norfolk. I always say Hi and give a big smile and sometimes a wave to walkers, cyclists and other runners and it's rare that they don't respond. I must say cyclists are friendlier in these Covid days than when they used to come in packs of 10 or more ferocious MMILs.
Hiya roseabi and all,I got my Virtual Bath Half number in the post this morning. The letter with it said that you could wear it or just keep it as a souvenir but I'm definitely going to wear it. Getting quite excited now but a bit flummoxed as to how I'm going to come up with a route that doesn't keep going over the same old roads.
It is definitely time to start planning as the VBH is 14th March and this week my plan has the longest total distance.
I am also planning to do the HUHM on the 28th as well. I might be mad but I also really, really need the challenge.
Thankfully, all going well so far (*touch wood*). 15km yesterday and I felt ok afterwards, even had enough energy to vacuum the house in the afternoon. Absolutely starving today which is one of my favourite side effects of running as I feel duty bound to eat more than usual. Glad of a non-running day tomorrow though.
On our runs generally people are lovely but there is always one or two each run, even when we run as a family. I expect most people's runs are probably like that though. It's so nice getting smiles from people when you run by and your experience must have been such a lovely heart lifter roseabi 😍
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