WEEKLY CHAT 13-19 JANUARY ☕️🫖

[Irishprincess]

Hello January runners. How are things?

Sorry this week’s chat is a bit late but we’re here now to read all about your running. What’s new, what’s different and how things are going as we head to mid-January already?

I don’t know about some of you, but the snow and ice have played havoc with my running and so I delayed starting my new HM plan until it cleared. I somehow managed the first week and am just about to start week 2. I have entered a few races to keep me focused and so I have those to look forward to 🤗

I don’t make resolutions but just make goals for myself. One goal is a DRYJanuary and so far it’s going well. Apart from a few occasions I haven’t really missed alcohol that much. Mind you, let’s see how I feel towards the end of the month! 🍷

Have you made any “goals” for the year? Running and/or running related objectives? We’d love to read all about them.

It’s a short one this week, so it’s over to you guys to pull up a chair and grab a drink and share your news.

Whatever you’re doing, have a great week and stay safe and strong.

From your admin team, linda9389 , Beachcomber66 and me xxx

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[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Apologies from me for the late post, and many many thanks to IP for picking it up because I didn't spot it on my calendar 🙏 That's what happens when you are relaxing and have lots of time on your hands 🙈I'm in Canada again with a surprisingly snow free forecast for the month, so hope to get all my runs in while I'm here. It's a cutback week on my plan this week, so that should be pretty easy. Last Saturday's long run had to be an afternoon one (which I don't like at all), to let the unexpected overnight snow clear!

Goals? To be happy. To remain injury free. And maybe, just maybe, 2025 will be the year I master the habit of strength training 🤔

Have a great week everyone, and apologies again xxx

Unexpected snowfall

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Those goals are worth pursuing Linda. I’m with you on the injury one. Weirdly, I got rid of my mysterious hip pain that I’ve had, on and off, for a few months. I found a really sore spot around my hip bone (I think it’s my illiopsoas muscle) and after a little massage my hip pain completely disappeared!

I’m still learning about my body 🙂

Enjoy Canada 🇨🇦

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Wow, that's amazing. I wish I could find the key to mine; at present it keeps coming back to strength training!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

I just did my first session this year and it hurts 😖

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Hello IP. My exercise last week was just a series of precarious walks with Molly. Today was lethal! Water standing on ice in patches; the conditions which caused my spinal fracture 7 years ago, but it was also the motivation for starting to run, so not all bad.

As you know, I limped home with an injury 9 days ago. It turned out to be Tenosynovitis, aka damage to the sheath around my left achilles tendon. Back to the physio today! It feels fine at present; no pain and no swelling, due in part to lots of icing to keep the swelling down and then heat treatment to stimulate the production of synovial fluid. So 🤞🤞🤞.

Ambitions for this year; maybe to run the extra 5k on top of a HM to complete a Metric Marathon. I intend to follow the NRC Marathon Plan, because additional strength training and miles in the legs will be important. Whilst I knocked a big chunk off my HM pb last year, it is strength and stamina rather than pace that I need to build up. Races? It would be good to get some races in, but that is not entirely within my control. So we will see 🙂.

Winter clearly doesn’t like me!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Maybe we need to do some kind of strength work group goal as it’s a common theme here!

There’s no reason why you can’t achieve those goals BC, you have lots of time. And your “no pain, no swelling” is very good news indeed. Are you planning a jogette soon?

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Morning IP 🙂. Tomorrow or Thursday for a very short run my physio says. I am thinking 1k! Whilst I don’t think that my new trail shoes are part of the issue, I need to find out carefully so as not to cause a further problem. I am going to try running with heel caps in. They will lift the heel drop in my trails by 2mm, so that will be 10mm in total, just 2 mm short of my adrenalines. High arches are a nuisance!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Keeping everything crossed BC 🤞

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

A better outlook than recently. This is a test. This photograph would not load as a HEIF, so I have changed it to JPEG. The colours are not as bright🤞

Guess it worked this time! The other format works sometimes too, and sometimes jpeg won’t load. IT are still looking at it for us.

Nice start to the day !

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Stunning! 🥰

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

3k completed 🤞no breakdown. I think my legs prefer warm weather!🙂

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Great news! Maybe you need a gym for winter…?

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

That would be a big step… but maybe necessary. At least my trails felt ok today.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

👍

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Hello IP and everyone.

I don’t like winter running. I didn’t realise exactly how much until my job ramped up and I wasn’t able to go out mid-morning on the really cold days. No such luxury nowadays, so to put it bluntly, I don’t go out at all! Instead I remain all cosy at the gym, which has been invaluable this winter. 🙏

My HM plan is lolloping along of sorts, but what I’m proud of is my new found *enjoyment* of a few modest weight sessions (arms and legs). And - yes I will do it - I’ve signed up for a circuits session on Wednesday morning - outside! 😨 I was watching from the comfort of the cafe last week, and liked the look of the people doing it. Not mega gym bunnies; just regular folk. I’m a “regular folk”, so I thought I’d have a go. I’m a bit nervous, but hey. 🫣😅

Flossie is enjoying slightly longer gentle off lead walks, this is my birthday week, and I’m seeing some VRBs at the weekend. So all good here. ❤️

[misswobble Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

that sounds great! Good luck 💪😀👍

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Good luck with the circuits session Munks, that sounds awesome! Just think of how you’ll feel when you’ve finished. Badass 💪

That’s good news about about Flossie. Happy birthday for this week 🎂and enjoy your VRB meet-up 🤗

[Dexy5 10 Miles]

Hello Irishprincess . The cold weather has definitely reduced my running and I’m only getting out twice a week at the moment. I’ve got all the right gear , but not the enthusiasm. I’m not fretting about it; twice is better than not at all.

I’ve not set any goals apart from being on form for the first race of the year. That is currently, Monsal Trail in April, unless I can find another interesting 10k before then.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

Twice a week is definitely way better than many have managed Dexy and, as you rightly say, there’s no point fretting about it.

Whisper it - but we might have another spring HU event to put in your diary.

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Irishprincess]

🤐

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

We do? 😯🙂

[misswobble Marathon]

Evenin all 🙂

The ice is putting a crimp on our running plans, but having a plan on the go has spurred me on to go out and just do what I can.

I managed over an hour today. The road was actually better than the trail, where there were sheets of ice all over the place. I enjoyed it though as I was well wrapped up and there as only a slight breeze. I walked much of it but enjoyed watching the swans and the highland cows with their new bells 🙂

Have a good week everyone 🙂🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

I am hoping that the ice will be gone by Wednesday. My physio has allowed me to go for a trot ! Apparently the swelling in my calf/achilles is much reduced, so time for a short test flight. We had a chunk of time left over, so I got her to look at my back pain which strikes every time I have to bend forward to wash Molly’s paws post walk. Apparently I had a tight area in my quadratus lumborum muscle. Never heard of it before, but I now know that it doesn’t like being pressed!! Ouch…but physio says it will clear up in a couple of days! That's what I call a good service 🙂

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Doing what we can is all we can do missw and the weather will pass. I love the sound of cow bells, very atmospheric 🐄🔔

I managed to get out into a little forest the other day and whereas the paths around were icy and white, once inside the trees, it was a different world! All green and no sign of the white stuff at all 😊

[misswobble Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

oh that was good then 😀🏃‍♀️👍

[RunWillie Marathon]

Hi Irishprincess & other VRB's,

As you all know, I love a goal.

Here's my 2025 running goals (again 😜)

2500km annual distance

25km x 5

5 runs per week & 2 strength sessions

We've just sold our house & bought another one, so the 2025 goals are now looking very ambitious. I didn't realise how important my ocean running was until we started house hunting. Our new house is as close to the ocean but on a different stretch near the dunes, so my strength will have to improve as that ocean path is certainly not as flat as the ocean path we're near now. I don't want to end up injured, so will adjust the goals as needed.

Happy week, everyone! ❤️

View from my new run route 😍

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

Just good to get our weekly dose of Australian sunshine again RW; great picture!! Well done for getting it to post!

Moving house can be a stressful process but you have done the hard bit. Now for the creative phase when you turn your new house into your new home; and you can take your time over that. I think that you will soon get used to the hills and will emerge an even stronger runner. I would hate to have to move away from my patch; forest and moorland with thoughtfully placed trails following the route of old railway lines and all just a warm up walk away from our front door.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

How exciting RW! A house move! I know when we moved about 11 years ago, it gave me a whole different world of running.

It’s great that you’ll still be near the sea but new routes will be very thrilling and just think of the fun you’ll have exploring 🤗

Those are great goals. Good luck and enjoy the new house and surroundings 🍀

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

That's quite view RW, the colour of the ocean is a particularly stunning shade of blue. I will play a little mind trick on myself and transport myself there when I'm running under grey skies by the Thames tomorrow. Hope the house move goes well and the new coastal routes are kind.

[RiceAndPeas Marathon]

Hi IP, well my goals are much the same as others have said. I really spent far too long being unwell and injured last year. I vow to drink 3-4 litres of water every day in the name of kidney stone avoidance. I also solemnly swear to do strength training at the gym twice a week and do flexibility work every day.If I can do these things I stand a chance of achieving my targets of running 100 miles every month and completing another marathon. This time without feeling quite so beaten up. Does this ever happen or do they always give you a beating?

Happy running everybody and good luck with your goals. I'm looking after my poor old dad for the next few days so please excuse my absence.

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to RiceAndPeas]

Hi R&P, that sounds like a good plan. I find that flexibility stuff really pays off as does work to strengthen each leg separately. I don’t know whether a marathon can be accomplished without taking a beating; Katnap and TailChaser are the experts on that( they seem to bounce back really quickly). I do know that the right exercises make my distance running easier and I knocked a lump off my HM pb in 2024. Hope you enjoy your time with your Dad 👍.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to RiceAndPeas]

Those are fine goals R&P. Good luck with them.

I did the first of my strength training yesterday after a gap since before Christmas and I must say it was harder than before! Like you, I want to get back into a routine with the strength work. Much easier that way 🥵

I hope your dad is ok and you can still find time for a run or two.

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Yay, I made 5k this morning! No swelling as yet, heart rate was up a bit, but almost 2 weeks without running (2 to 15 January) was bound to show through at some point. My first comeback run was 3k at 7.08 pace, today was 6:41. One big but! I left my new trail shoes behind and put on my old faithful adrenalines. Are the new shoes a problem? Not sure; I had a calf niggle before I started wearing them. I think I will build up distance in my adrenalines, try to get some fitness back and then re-introduce the cascadias over short distances to see what happens. I just needed to get a decent run in today, so job done.

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Fantastic news BC, it's so good to see you are running again.!

Do your new shoes have a lower drop than your old faithful adrenaline?

When I was recovering from Achilles tendinopathy last year I found wearing my Brooks Glycerins was less likely to result in a flare up than running in my Rebels. They have a 10mm drop whereas the New Balance shoes have a 6mm. I'm wondering if it may be a factor.

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to RiceAndPeas]

Hi R&P, thanks for that. Our brains have gone on the same journey. Adrenalines are 12mm, Cascadias are 8mm. After checking with my physio I have put heel caps in the cascadias, bringing them up to 10mm. I have also tightened the laces by using the loopholes at the top; so hopefully they will move about less. I want to get some miles into my legs before trying the Cascadias again. There is zero flexibility in the soles of the Cascadias; may be a factor.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Great news BC 👍Definitely a decent run done 👏