First up, big thanks to Beachcomber66 and cheekychipmunks for their brilliant chats and hosting skills. I think you’ll agree that they both did an amazing job!
Secondly, a gentle reminder about Tim’s Run next Sunday on the 27th. If you can’t run that day then please try to run it as soon as possible to the date. And remember to take a photo too. This really will be a fitting and lovely way to remember Tim. Even better if we smile while we run 🙂
So, what’s been happening in your running world? Any news? This is the place to share it.
I’m in Ireland at the minute and on Saturday I headed out to a local beauty spot for a run. Blimey 😳 What a difference in the temperature from the day before! On Friday it was about 9 degrees and on Saturday morning it had dropped to 1 degrees 🥶
Thank goodness I packed a pair of long leggings and a hat. No gloves though and my hands were cold but I had on one of those tops with the wrist loop so they warmed up pretty quickly once I started to run.
It was actually gorgeous running weather, crisp and cold but not wet or freezing. One of my favourite running conditions 🥰 Love, love, love this time of year.
Do you have a favourite temperature or weather conditions to run in? What are the worst weather conditions for you? I hate running in heavy wind, it’s so energy-sapping and makes my eyes water 💨
Whatever the conditions are like for you, we hope your running is going well and if you’re not running at the minute then we hope you’ll get back to it asap.
Whatever you’re up to, have a great week everyone.
From the Marathon Team xxx
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🥳 If you have an event in November or December and you’d like a pompom cheer or if you’re just curious what your VRBs are up to then go here:
🏅If you’ve run a milestone run: 10 miles/Half Marathon/Metric Marathon (26.2K)/Marathon/Ultra (50K and beyond) and want a shiny new badge, then head here:
Aww thanks IP, it was my absolute pleasure to host last week and wonderful to have been asked in the first place. 🙏🏻 Beachcomber66 is a total HU legend and paved the way for me beautifully 😀
Enjoy Ireland, and I hope you get some more lovely runs in. The one you did sounded perfect and in my favourite conditions too! In fact that’s how they were at PR on Saturday. The cold sunny - and most of all windless - day warranted capris, short sleeves, light gloves and my trusty 😎. Couldn’t get any better than that, and it’s definitely the weather I’d choose for every run for ever more!
Hideous here this morning 💨 💦 🥶 but it didn’t matter as I hunkered down at the gym for a short intervals session! 😇
I love the weather when I can run in shorts & a short sleeve tee without getting up at 5am. I don’t mind running in the rain since the Hoka shake dry jacket but wind along the ocean front is often challenging. I’m still working on keeping my mileage consistent until the end of the year. 234km to go to hit my annual goal of 2022km.Lots of easy zone 2 running should get me there.
I’m running around Australia at the moment virtually as all the borders were closed when I started my journey. I’ve got 10,568km left to go after today’s run. I will be celebrating once I’ve done that.
We’re heading down south this week camping so I’ll be doing a run in memory of Tim there. x
Hi Irishprincess , thanks for chat hosting this week, and of course the reminder about Tim's Run. How wonderful to imagine that dozens of VRBs will be getting out there to run and smile!
I've managed two running achievements this past week, neither earth-shattering. However, I shall mention them anyway since I never get PBs any more, and don't do events!
Yesterday I ran with our dog, properly attached with a canicross belt and lead, €7 bargain from Aldi. 5.16k, 137m vertical, all on roads and tracks. Fun, but even though Jedi was well-behaved, it's too limiting in terms of movement and routes for me to want to take it up.
Other achievement was finally making it back into the elevation gain weekly top ten of an informal running group of which I'm a member. My 854m vertical over four runs totalling 32k got me ninth place. (For anyone working in feet and miles that's just short of 2802 feet over 19.88 miles.) Context: the guy in first place did 4196m vertical over 93.1km. Yes, in one week!
As for weather conditions? Dry is preferable, and cool, or cold, between freezing and 10°C. I'll happily run in below-freezing temperatures too, as long as the surface isn't icy. I love sunshine, just not heat.
It’ll be a special day on Sunday Cmoi, so many smiling runners hopefully 🙂
Well done on your achievements! Is that the first time you’ve tried running with your dog? I can imagine it’s quite tricky for certain arm movements but at least you’ve tried it. I’ve often thought the same with runners who run with a baby buggy. It looks so difficult and I’m sure there’s a technique to it but at the same time their arm movement is very limited.
Great job on your ninth place 💪 I think it’s fair to say you're well recovered from your injury!
Thanks Irishprincess . I've run with Jedi several times before, but he's either been off the lead, or on a normal lead. The canicross lead is attached to a waistbelt, is longer and has an elasticated section. This means my arms are much freer to move than with a normal lead, but I can't let go of the lead if things go wrong.
There aren't any options for nice flat grassy runs round here, so were almost constantly going up or down on unforgiving surfaces and I really didn't want to fall again. Plus, Jedi's an exuberant Border Collie - Bernese Mountain Dog cross who weighs about 60% of what I do, more than capable of pulling me over if not properly controlled.
So it'll be fun as an occasional activity, but that's all. I might add a photo later if I can find one!
I usually just spam people with Jedi photos on Strava, but since you've asked for it Irishprincess here you go! This was taken during the experimenting-canicross run. We'd just run up to the farm in the background and were on our way back home 😍
Dog on canicross lead, sitting on a stony country track and looking uphill.
Good to hear from you IP, I am happy that you enjoyed your run on Saturday in Ireland, I ran at Dunfermline parkrun in light rain, if I had been to one of the other 3 parkruns I go to the weather would have been dry and sunny.Next Sunday I intend to run a Half Marathon in memory of Tim, that will be my "Tim's Run"
My favourite weather for running is dry with the temperature anywhere between 5C and 19C, 41 to 66F and of course not too windy.
🙂 Thanks IP and CC. I now know what a good job you all do for us week after week, so thanks to you, CC and everyone at HU, you are all ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
This morning started with scraping the ice from my windscreen, but the sky is bright, no wind, no rain and it isn’t too muddy underfoot. Things to do this morning; my car had to be left at the garage for 8:30 😬, Molly was desperate for her walk (Monday being sausage day at the cafe) and then there is a certain football match this afternoon. So it will probably be 3pm before I run.
I don’t run when there is ice on the ground and I too am not a fan of really windy conditions. Otherwise, I will go out in just about anything. I have the right clothing, my head torch is on charge, so there is nothing to stop me. I am careful in very hot weather. There was a period in the summer when I was setting off at 8 am and sticking to tree lined routes, but I was still able to get in some nice long slow runs.
My last two winters have been injury blighted, but Friday’s run felt great, thanks to a physio session on Tuesday. So I plan to take things steady, starting with this week’s build up to Tim’s run next Sunday. I hope everyone has a good week so that we are all in peak condition to celebrate Tim’s huge contribution to the running development of so many of us. 🙂
Ooooh, ice 😱 I don’t want any of that BC! Not yet anyway.
I hope you got out for your run after the football. It’s getting a bit dark at that time especially if it’s horrible weather so let’s hope you wore bright colours 🌈
Enjoy your steady runs in preparation for Sunday 🏃♂️
I was up in the woods IP, so I had my headlight on. I stopped at 3k…legs were fine; stomach was a bit queasy. Always something! Still, run done, showered, warm and calves feel fine. My average heart rate was up; maybe the cold affects it (research required).
It’s not just the distance; the climbs up to the tops look really challenging. They look like amazing well supported runs, but not for the 70 year old version of me sadly. End of September beginning of October…so maybe not T-Shirt weather…
My problem is that I pick up little niggles so frequently that I couldn’t be confident that I would be “match fit” on the day. GSR worked out; just. Also an injury high up in the lakes is likely to put a lot of people to a lot of trouble getting me down again! So, nice thought, but no. 🙂
That's another reason why I don't like events - the pressure to run a specified distance on a particular day.
My left knee played up for the first time ever about 16k, I think, into my trail event. I just decided it wasn't happening that day and carried on! It really slowed me down on the mostly downhill second half though. Some poor woman fell badly in the forest and had to be stretchered off by the firemen, who'd used an off-road buggy to get to her.
I was run ready about three weeks in advance of the GSR. I had built slack into the programme to so that I could recover from any injuries which cropped up in training. None did! So, I think that I ran too far in those last three weeks…hence the calf trouble on the run itself. That won’t stop me entering another road race…I can always call a taxi if I break down 🙂 🚕.
yeah I often only keep going as I think of the grub waiting at the end. It gets me through many a tough training run 😀🥕 Sommat that slips down easily like chilli or curry. Chilli with cheese on or a fried egg 👌.
I was looking at the Brecon to Cardiff ultra. I was in Brecon recently and on the train in Torpentau (sp?) The run starts in Brecon and runs up to the high point at Torp and then onto Cardiff. Might be a tad too ambitious, so now looking at 30k ish.
I love those loopy sleeve tops, so handy! I’m never quite sure where to put my gloves once my hands have warmed up, they end up in all sorts of odd places, and I can look as though I’ve got a huge growth on my hip or as though I’ve suddenly sprouted a 3rd boob 🤣. Anyway, like you, I adore crisp, cold runs. We warm up fairly fast don’t we, so if I’m chilly on my warm up walk, the temperature’s probably just right! Mind you 1 degree is pretty chilly, I don’t think it’s been that cold here quite yet.
Haha I know what you mean about the strange lumps and bumps when you have to store gloves 😂
Gloves and a hat are usually the first things I “winter” up in and while I keep my hat on for the duration of the run, the gloves usually have to be removed at some point. I thread mine through a running belt which seems to work.
As soon as I step off the plane here I always feel the difference in the temperature from home 🥶
Ooh that's chilly IP! I agree though, a crisp clear run at this time of year is quite something. I'll run in pretty much anything bar ice/snow but am not so keen on the heat, especially if there's an event.
I've had a cautious week with a couple of niggles but hopefully a sports massage tomorrow will sort them. If all goes to plan I hope to run Tim's run with Couchpotato2 . We promise to smile and hopefully we'll have plenty of opportunity to check we are going at a conversational pace!!! Have a great week everyone 🥰
Sorry to hear about your niggles Linda. Unfortunately I’m in the same boat - I just can’t seem to shake them at the mo. Have decided to have a few weeks off as of today, but will aim for a walk on Sunday and some strength in between. I hope your massage tomorrow does the job! 😊
I’ve missed the last couple of chats (sorry cheeky and BC, if I’d known!!!).
Winter blues are kicking in a bit and my mojo is being dragged across the floor. I just can’t seem to get the oomph together at the moment. I’ve got a couple of races booked, Winter Series No.2 ticked off but I’m really struggling for enthusiasm. My running buddy is in France so trying to get up in the damp and the dark is no fun. Rubbish weather really isn’t helping. Anyone got any tips? Nothing is touching the sides after London, I’m even considering joining Katnap’s club it’s getting so bad!
IP, I like cold, 5-10°C, no wind, no rain, blue skies and a view that lasts for miles and miles!
I’m sure my mojo will return, it just needs. good kick up the bottom!
Oh er TC, this doesn’t sound like you. But you have done loads of running for London and maybe it’s just a matter of over-indulging…..? Do you think it’s like eating a huge box of chocolates in one sitting and then afterwards you don’t want to see another chocolate for as long as you live? 🤰🤢
I have an over-indulging story about port but that’s a sorry tale for another day 🤢
Anyway. Maybe it’s your body asking for a little rest. No pressure, no races, just running for yourself as and when.
The weather and darker days don’t help though do they?
Maybe a few runs with Katnap’s club will do the trick…. Might be worth a try.
Naaah, I can’t stop IP, I’d be unbearable!! And I still do want to run, I think I just need a new focus, a bit of routine and company. I never used to want company on a run but I really enjoy my natters with Shake-and-run and we had lovely runs through the Christmas market last year finishing with mulled wine 😋
I’ve done a 5k and gone to the gym tonight and feel a bit better. But I really don’t do dark days and being back in the office more often is playing havoc with getting a routine organised.
I think you’re right Dexy5 , I think I’ll dip into NRC and give it a go, a bit of guidance would definitely help. If that doesn’t do something it might have to be the club. If it does help, I’ll join a virtual club, like I’ve been threatening since London.
I am planning on 5k/day in January and I’m looking forward to that. It will really push me. I nearly did it in 2021 but I missed a couple of days. I have 130 miles to get to 1000 miles this year, so I’m going to have to push my mileage up to get those. Planning on a HM for Tim on Sunday, that will take a chunk out. Stuff in the pipeline anyway, once I have more things set in stone for 2023 I’ll also feel better - this year has been so full!
My marathon shoes are the same colour and I’ve had to wear them recently. They all get grotty eventually but they’ll have had a good life. 😊
Thank you for letting me sound off. I think I have it sorted now. Like AlMorr , Katnap and I will be running a HM for Tim on Sunday (not in those shoes though). Like the marathon, I’m going to wear my marathon Cancer Research top to keep reminding myself why I’m doing it. Tim will be the best motivation to kick my mojo back into touch and the new shoes can help carry on the mojo recovery (they are so bouncy!!).
Oh yes, and I managed to haul myself out of bed to do an early run yesterday morning without the motivation of meeting Shake-and-run , so that’s a definite win 👍
Hello Irishprincess, have a lovely time in Ireland, and enjoy some different running routes.
Although cold weather is great while running, I don’t like having to think of the extra layers needed before and after when not running directly to and from home. It isn’t very green to take a car to the prom loaded with extra clothes but sometimes it’s necessary when doing a Buddy meet up. So Spring and Autumn running are better for me in that respect. I have enjoyed some lovely runs in the rain, if it’s rained after going out, but I don’t deliberately go out in it. As a result, the last month has been a bit difficult for getting 3 runs a week in. Then there’s the wind which is our version of hill training, great with it behind you but a challenge when head on, which it often is.
The wind and rain together is my worst scenario . I entered a Santa dash with Oldgirlruns in such conditions and most runners didn’t turn up! I gave OGR the option of ducking out but she was insistent. I was so glad it was only 5k.
Hello IP 👋 Thanks for hosting the chat this week. Big thank you too to BC and Cheeky for their hosting prowess these past two weeks. 👍
My training is well underway now and last Thursday I ventured back to the track and my heel was ok. 👍 It caught me out yesterday after 2 walks though. Ouch. I have shock wave therapy planned for tomorrow, so hopefully that’ll help, as it’s definitely not gone yet.
I love running in vest and shorts and I used to do it in almost all kinds of weather. I really love those bright crispy winter days when you can see your breath. Easily my favourite days for running. Unfortunately cold days are not great for sprinting but it’s ok provided I layer up and keep my legs warm.
I actively avoid rain I just don’t enjoy running in it. I’ll even skip a track session if it’s raining 😬 and this week looks like it might have to be a skip week. 😅
Oh, I hope the shock wave therapy has worked well Brian. Is it painful?
You’re clearly one of those professional looking runners who wear shorts and vest most of the year around. But yes, those bright crispy winter days are just gorgeous for running.
Heres’s to more of them for us all Brian ❄️🏃♂️🏃♀️
I couldn’t have it in the end as apparently it can only be used effectively on chronic injuries and mine doesn’t fall into that category yet. I had ultrasound in the end. They think it might be either a stress fracture or insertional tendinothopy at the Achilles. 🤷♂️
In my previous running days I’d always be in shorts and vest/t shirt, but with sprinting it’s really important to keep warm, especially between drills, so I’m always wrapped up if it’s chilly.
I haven’t been told to rest as such. Just can’t train at 100%for now. It seems to be responding to the ultrasound though which is good 👍 as it means it’s soft tissue and can heal 👍
I managed a 6k today with a dose of CB in my ear. Still not sure about listening to voices as I go, but it didn’t spoil things….so he may get another whirl. Highlight of the day was when I looked to the right off the trail for no particular reason and saw a big bright Kingfisher sitting about 20 feet from me. It was beautiful. No chance of getting a photograph; but really uplifting. Maybe he will be around for Sunday’s run.
Hello Irishprincess, Thank you for hosting. Physio appointment today and I only need to make a further appointment if I have excessive pain or swelling. Exercises to continue (hamstring, knee, Achilles) and she was fine with me working towards the half marathon distance. I tried 15minutes at a faster pace to see what happened this morning. It reminded me that I don't really enjoy running 'my fast' which of course is relative, but my body seemed OK. I suppose it is often the next day when any reaction is felt.
So all going well 7km remains my furthest since April troubles and I think I know that my knee and its multiple problems will not be happy if I go for HIT, weights or certain intervals. I'll just have to enjoy what I can do, and not be concerned about what isn't currently open to me.
Weather wise I currently aim to run when it's not raining and somehow because I have a number of 'can't run at all' periods I seem keener to run than I have ever been. 😊🏃🏻♀️
Oh that all sounds very positive! And you’ve got the clearance to go for a HM! Wonderful.
It seems you know what works for you and, more importantly, what doesn’t, so with all of this in place I look forward to your posts telling us about your various runs to HM 🍀👍
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Weekly Chat May 30th to 6th June