8 weeks til Brighton Half!

[Runnf]

Wow that suddenly feels a lot closer! Anyone else going to be there? My first HM!

I'm resisting the temptation to ignore the training plan's low mileage week and try for 9 (or 10?!) miles today. I know that's naughty though so I'll try to stick to the plan! That plan'll take me to 10 miles by the end of Jan, then I'll creep up to 12 & taper for 2 weeks.

Realised today that, though I live in Brighton, I've never run on the seafront! I live across town, & running home would involve an uphill at the end that's never felt worth it.

At this point I think I'll 'save up' the course & have it as a novelty on the day. Not that running 13.1 miles in front of loads of strangers won't be novelty enough 😱

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

Sounds like you have a good plan,

[Runnf Half Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Thank you 🤞

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Exciting!!! There will be so much 'new' on the day to keep you going, and it sounds like your plan will have you running on fresh legs which means you can enjoy it all! Yes, if you can, stick to the plan 😊

[Runnf Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Thank you, I will try to be good. And to class things as 'exciting' instead of 'terrifying' is a good idea too 😁

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Runnf]

😍

[Runnf Half Marathon]

PS I managed to keep it low mileage today Cheated slightly cos instead of the 5 miles of the plan I did 6.2 for a nice neat 10k, but didn't push it too much. Nervous about getting to 10 miles & want to prove to myself that I can do it, but I know if I push too soon I'm more likely to injure myself & miss the event.

[Cmoi Marathon in reply to Runnf]

Hi Runnf , while I can empathise with "want to prove to myself that I can do it," I just wanted to reassure you that you really don't have to add on extra distance. There's a reason for cutback weeks, and you've got plenty of time over the next eight weeks to build stamina. Hope the training continues to go well, happy running!

[Runnf Half Marathon in reply to Cmoi]

Thank you, that's sweet of you to be reassuring- and good stuff to hear!

[Cmoi Marathon in reply to Runnf]

Let's put it like this: my trail marathon event was 13km longer and 870m more elevation gain than my longest training run, and I still managed it! Complete your plan and you'll be physically prepared. The rest of it is down to self-belief, and a pinch of luck!

[Runnf Half Marathon in reply to Cmoi]

Awesome work!

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

I did the Brighton Half in 2020, it's a great route - you may get hooked on seafront running and find you want to brave the uphill home sometimes!

Enjoy your training xxx

[Runnf Half Marathon in reply to roseabi]

I remember as a spectator that 2020 was the horror weather year, and you're still being positive - thank you ☺️😆

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to Runnf]

The wind was frightful, but it was westerly so we had the last laugh 😊😊😊

[chickensrun Half Marathon]

Well done! Good to stick to the plan, I did my first HM last year and caused problems in my training when I went for a much longer run than planned early on in the training!

[Runnf Half Marathon in reply to chickensrun]

Thank you, that's a good prompt for me to behave myself.

[SkiMonday Ultramarathon]

Hi Runnf

Your post served as a timely reminder that I really needed to figure out how many weeks there are to my events and to begin following the plan. As it happens, the plan has me doing a 10 mile long run this week. Since I ran that distance on New Year’s Eve, it seems I’m right where I need to be (phew!)

It seems that you’ve been following your plan for a while now so I’m sure you’ll be fine on the day. I remember reading a piece of advice on the lines of “you do all the work in your training, on race day, you just go out and do what you’ve been practicing” which I think is good advice. I guess it could be summed up as “trust the plan”.

[Runnf Half Marathon in reply to SkiMonday]

That makes sense. Thank you - and good luck with your plan & event!

[Cmoi Marathon in reply to SkiMonday]

That advice was certainly true for my maratrail SkiMonday - there was almost no craziness, other than the stone chaos and the giant boulders, that I hadn't actually tried out during training!

[SkiMonday Ultramarathon in reply to Cmoi]

Just goes to show that you trained well Cmoi!

Although, it seems to me that, when training for a road event, it’s easy to predict what to expect (although extreme weather is an exception to that). Whereas, if you’re going to be running over a mountain on a forest trail, there’s more likely to be unexpected problems. For that type of course, I think it helps a lot to be able to explore the route beforehand.

[Hidden]

Hi Runnf, for 18 months I did nothing but run on the seafront and I still don't get bored with it. I did the Brighton half last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, you will love the course 😃I recently joined a running club and have run a few trails that included hills for the first time ever and omg that was a shock and I needed extra rest days to recover. I'm regretting not adding hills to my training earlier but I'm definately enjoying the new challenges that hills and trails are giving me, and I can definately see the training benefits.

The Brighton half course is mainly flat with a gradual climb to Ovingdean but don't worry it's totally manageable.

Good luck with your training, I'm also doing the Brighton half so fingers crossed for all of us and let's hope the weather is kind 🤞🤞

[Runnf Half Marathon in reply to Hidden]

Lovely to hear, thanks Tracey! I am sure I will enjoy running along the seafront, and I'm surprised I haven't made it yet. It's going to be a nice new aspect of running for me on the day, and I expect I'll be back down there soon after the HM!Good luck to you too, yes indeed fingers crossed that the weather gods are in a good mood that day