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I'm treating it as a fast walk!
@ElectricWorry - thanks for that. Looks properly good that and have registered for updates for the summer one. Would give me a couple of months recovery and then training after the half.
Looking at the full marathon round Langsett in September too. It's beautiful round there and the course reasonably flat for the area which for my first full is ideal.
Smashed out another training run tonight and felt really good. Pace picking up slowly. Just got to keep on track, stay injury free and avoid Covid. The half is the day before my birthday and me, my birthday and Covid have not got on in the past - it having ruined all three that have been in the pandemic era!
https://live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace23/
Various races along the Pennine Way start this weekend - you can dot watch using the above link.
Well i've been off the running for the past 10 days due to my left hip REALLY flaring up after a 20k run 10d ago... FFS... literally unable to even jog without pain...
I'm sure i jsut need to stay off it (running, that is) adn munch NSAIDS, but gonnas ee a physio to see if they suggest anyhting else...
I've 2 halves and a full marathon coming in the next 3 months, so REALLY need to be running again!!!
DrP
100th parkrun (175 volunteer credits!) and XC this Saturday, I have never ran in worse conditions, driving rain, ankle deep mud and freezing cold...I absolutely loved it.
What I hadn't anticipated was that it would properly wipe me out for the rest of the weekend. Sunday was meant to be a long run of 16 or 17 miles, but I had to bail after 10 as I was so shattered.
Still over 60 miles for the week mind you.
How was everyone else's weekend?
Side effects of joining a running club - I'm racing a Cross Country race on Sunday!
I was a county champion in schools XC, however that was 20-something years and several pies and beers ago. I am not expecting great things...
i reckon you could probably beat a few school kids again, TBH...GO FOR IT!!!
DrP
Got to love XC @pyro.
Do I? Is that mandatory?! 😉
I suspect I will spend an hour blowing out of my backside and trying not to cry. Type 2 fun....
Anyone got any suggestions for some microspikes for icy trail runs? Been meaning to get some for a while now but as with all this stuff there's a pretty broad range to choose from
@DougD I've got some Kahtoola ones, got them from Climbers Shop in Ambleside. They are super grippy on sheet ice or compacted snow. They've lasted well, think this'll be their 5th winter. Easy to put on and not too bulky.
https://www.climbers-shop.com/snow-and-ice/walking-spikes/kahtoola-microspikes__10905468
Kahtoola Nanospikes generally worked well for me. Seemed a bit more stable and with fewer pressure points (inside the shoe) that the larger spikes. Downside is that they probably don’t grip quite as well.
@lunge - Congrats on the 100th parkrun!
They're the kind of XC conditions I endured at school, I hated it. Now I think I would quite enjoy that.
For me 53 miles for the week, the most I've ever done. My legs are tired!!!
Week 4 of my 16 week plan for Manchester.
Is there a STW Runners Strava group? It would be good to see what folks are racing and mileage that they're putting down.
@dannybgoode - I did the Sheffield half last year. It's a great event but a hard one! The pull out of the city and all the way up to Ringinglow is a long one. Just keep plodding away and the top comes eventually. Worth running a few longer descents at quickish pace if you can too. Most of my running is on the moors above Sheffield at a slow but steady pace and I found the climb up ok (ish!!) but coming back down Eccy Road at race pace was really hard on the legs. Water stations are crap - loads of plastic bottles and the bins are way too close to the station itself. So if you sip a small bottle of water for while then you've just got to leave it at the side of the road. They have a clean up crew but loads got chucked into the verges and over fences etc - very poor.
I think round sheff summer entries goes live this sunday - I'm entering this year.
Oh, and isn't the Langsett marathon just multiple laps of the same course? I think I looked at it once and didn't fancy running 4 or 5 laps of the same loop - even though it is a nice area!
Bins are always way too close to the water stations, annoys me off that organisers never seem to understand this. I just drop my bottle on the pavement. Only happens at Mancs marathon (basically the only race I pick up water) and there's a big cleanup crew but still, why do they do this? I can't possibly drink sufficiently in the available time.
When I did the Fort William marathon I just slowly drank the water between drink stations, dumping the empty and picking up a fresh one. The whole disposable water bottle thing needs outlawed anyway.
@thecaptain I've wondered this too, about placing bins so close after water stations. Thinking about it, perhaps they expect people to walk for a short while to drink (I know I find it really hard to drink from anything other than a sports bottle whilst running).
The other thing I suppose, is that they'd need an awful lot of bins over quite a distance to accommodate everyone's different drinking rates.
I've not really thought this through until now, but it does seem to make a bit of sense now that I have!
If I knew there was going to be a bin maybe 500m after the water station then that would surely satisfy a large majority of runners. That gives 2-3 mins drinking time, and still only a short carry if you don't need that long.
But as I said, for an event that size they are sweeping the whole course anyway, perhaps it just isn't a big deal for them.
I dont often listen to running podcasts I find almost all of them inane, repetitive or just silly (even though I am an enthusisastic runner...) but this one is excellent and its not just because Tony is a clubmate and friend of mine. I can really recommend this episode (not listened to any other episodes)
A month down and how's everyone's running going?
I've steadily upped my distances and slowly getting to the point of comfortable.
Now my average weekly distance (50-60km) is more than my entire 2022 distance!
Hastily entered Glentress 1/2 trail marathon for later this month, and awaiting entries to the Ben Nevis Ultra (part of Glencoe Skyline weekend) to open tomorrow alongside some scottish fell races.
I'm slow. Piling up decent miles, but wondering if I'm going to manage a decent time in the marathon. Did manage a half-decent parkrun last weekend and I've got a list of possible races over the next few weeks (10k/HMs) to test myself.
Will be looking to WAVA tables rather than absolute time to gauge myself!
Set myself a target to run at least 3 miles every day in Jan. Carried on into Feb and am on a 36 day streak with 175 miles ran. Just trying to create good habits.
I ran a PB on Sunday! My first at any distance since, believe it or not, December 2015.
10km in 33m2Xs.
I have another roll of the dice coming up at Trafford 10km on March 5th. I am going to go for sub 33m.
Thanks @surfer!
Sub 33m is a full on stretch goal but Trafford 10km is supposed to be lightning fast (I think nearly 10 people went under 30m last year, and over 100 under 33m) so it's probably the best chance I'll get.
That is rapid @finbar.
All good here, albeit it a little directionless. No real events of note in the diary until October bar the odd 10k and half. Debating a few late spring/summer events but not sure what to enter. Still doing 60+ miles per week and running every day.
A mild rant, related to not entering any events, is the compulsory kit lists for some of the things I'm looking at. A summer trail marathon around an area that is not in any way remote and I need taped seam waterproof trousers and top along with first aid kits and all kinds of other stuff. This means spending probably £250 on new kit before I've paid for entry or travelled to the venue. A similar event I did last year needed only the ability to carry 1ltr of water and a space blanket.
So if anyone can recommend a scenic trail marathon or short ultra that's vaguely in the Midlands and surrounding that I don't need to spend loads on kit for (I did this last year for reference, Dukeries 30 / 40 - HOBO Pace - Register for the race in Sherwood Forest) then I'd like to hear about it.
That's a great time @finbar!
Slightly by accident I seem to have signed myself up to 4 ultras (so far) this year... oops. I won't be doing them at finbar's pace 🙂
Great running! If you're local, the pace and depth of the Salford 10k in early April is great too. I ran it in 35:30 a few years ago and wasn't in the top 70. I knew there were some upsides to Manchester being flat
Thanks and thanks 🙂 .
@mcfly, good tip, I'm not that local (Sheffield) but I see Salford 10km is on Good Friday which might be a good use of a bank holiday...
"I need taped seam waterproof trousers and top along with first aid kits and all kinds of other stuff. This means spending probably £250"
I always took the view that if I had to stop to pull on waterproof pants I had probably stopped racing so a cheap but seam sealed pair were good enough. Probably similar with a jacket although I suppose its possible to still be racing I suppose. I sweat quite a lot so even the most expensive jackets are a "boil in the bag" so I avoid them if I can.
@surfer, the issue with the cheap ones is they generally don't fold up small...which means I might end up needing to buy a bigger pack.
Which then begs the question, what pack that carries circa 10 - 15l but crucially, holds the front bottles low on the chest?
@finbar - you wouldn't happen to have been a Dewsbury on Sunday would you? Well done on your pb
Funnily enough I was also there and also running a pb and also starting with 33.
Dewsbury is a pretty quick field and it was great conditions on Sunday.
I did Salford last year and that was also a pb, well until last Sunday at least. I did only better it by 7 seconds bu they all count.
Salford is 2 laps and is pretty flat, ever so slightly up hill to the finish, which is harder than it should be after hammering round there twice!
Which then begs the question, what pack that carries circa 10 – 15l but crucially, holds the front bottles low on the chest?
Raidlight have some decent packs, the one I have is a few years old but the bottles are fairly low.
@lunge - probably a bit far but the wife does lots of Punk Panther events and rates them. Not sure on the kit lists though. They are mainly in North/West Yorks though so may not suit your midlands requirement.
@lunge, the Settle Saunter might be worth looking at? "Only" 23 miles but a lot tougher than the road marathon I'm aiming at 🙂
So if anyone can recommend a scenic trail marathon or short ultra that’s vaguely in the Midlands and surrounding that I don’t need to spend loads on kit for
There's the silver trail. Very scenic (and hilly). https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=10957 but it's only a half.
What does everyone recommend in the way of running packs?
I'm not after something huge, just big enough for possibly a gilet, a hat, a small hydration bladder and phone/keys etc.
@crossed - I've got an Ultimate Direction vest - pretty sure it's the smallest they do. It's getting on a bit now but big enough for what you mention (soft bottles on the straps rather than bladder but think it can take a bladder too). I use it 3 or 4 times a week for carrying phone, car keys, windproof and foil bag (most of my running is across Peak District moors before there are many folk about so I'd like a fighting chance of getting off without hypothermia if I bust an ankle!)
@crossed. Mrs S bought me a UD vest thing as above. Does enough for some of my longer runs, especially as I'm usually solo.
A Zone 2 question if I may.
Lots of chat in the bike forum about Z2 training and I've seen similar recommendations for running. However, my HR pops into Z2 with as much as a fast walk. Is it just that my zones are set wrong?
Still a relative newbie to running, but I find it impossible (and boring as hell) to stay in zone 2 vs bike.
On Zone 2 and strictly aerobic training, this is a really interesting read and is worth half an hour of your life! <edit: scroll down to the table of contents> One Approach to Distance Training (hadd.run) The core message is that by building your aerobic engine by running <70% max heart rate you can make significant differences to your ability to run faster for longer.
That said, I'm not sure if the benefits really kick in until you're doing a high volume of running.
I think the perceived wisdom is, like cycling, do easy days easy (easier than you think!), hard days hard, and 80% of your days should be easy.
@crossed, look at the Harrier packs, they're really good and well priced too. Trail Running Gear For Beginners To Ultra Marathon – Harrier Trail Running (harrierrunfree.co.uk)
If you don't need to carry much, the CamelBack Ultra Pro is really goood, very comfy and lightweight too. Ultra™ Pro Vest 7L with 2 x 500ml Quick Stow™ Flasks - Packs from CamelBak UK
I've never really bothered thinking of or calculating "zones" for HR, I just run at a steady sustainable pace where I can go on basically forever, gradually fatiguing towards 3h or so which is the longest I do. Typically comes out around 110-120 bpm. Threshold stuff gets to upper 140s or low 150s, a real race I might reach 160 or so.
I don't find it boring, I listen to podcasts, admire the lovely views, daydream a bit. It's a sort of mobile meditation.