The Annual Running thread - beginners/ultras/whatever

Re waterproofs I have a berghaus vapourlight hyper smock which at 75g is super light. However, all told it's too light and tissuey fragile in a lot of scenarios: if any bushwhacking is involved, high winds on munros, getting hammered with mud if on the mtb. It does tick the box for compulsory kit though. The fact it's a smock also makes it a pain to get on and off, wish I'd bought the full zip version. Unless I really need to go light, I pack a berghaus vapour storm which is a lot heavier at 300g but far more usable if I'm likely to use it that day

I'm not in a club, our local league (Border XC) is open to all. However, it is club orientated, advertised via clubs and sells out very quickly.

Yay Gwent league cross country again this weekend I really can not wait. It is at Pembrey Park which I really like. It is a bit of a trek from Bristol though.

I just have to avoid all the sick people at work for a few more days.

 I believe you can run as a “Second Claim Runner” for their club – a bit like being a ringer. but you’d need to be nominally registered with them and wear their club colours. TBH it’s a good reason to join a club anyway

You can only run 2nd claim if you are first claim for somebody else. Otherwise you automatically become 1st claim for that club. If both your 1st and 2nd claim clubs are in the same event then you have to run for your 1st claim and in their colours, or you will be disqualified.

Its worth joining a club for the company alone, not to mention the coaching and support most provide to youngsters and that is where your subs go. I have been in a running club for over 40 years. For the last 10+ years I have remained a member of a large club (they usually offer the best junior support) even though I never use the facilities. The thought of youngsters having the same experiences that I had when I was a teenager, coach trips to relay and track meetings, making friends and enjoying the sport, is my subs well spent. Particularly as many of them come from less than ideal backgrounds. I know running for me (and sport in general) is a fantastic thing. Join a club and think not what your club can do for you....

Rumours of a marathon in my hometown of Prestwick in 2019, and a new half confirmed in Ayr for next year already, happy days!.

I’m not in a club, our local league (Border XC) is open to all. However, it is club orientated, advertised via clubs and sells out very quickly.

Hey Frank, did you enter the series? Had a great run on Sunday. For anyone else, the series sells out in hours after going live on entry Central which was on October 1st.

Tweed Valley Tunnel Trail Run. Anybody participated? Fancy this next year . Did the run before the sevens thist year and it was great. Thinking this would be as good?

Some clubs might let you run as a non-scorer (often with a big X on your back) if you haven't fully joined the club or are just dipping your toe in the water.  However, assuming you aren't at the very pointy end, you probably won't be upsetting the score system anyway.

2nd race in the Surrey League on Saturday.  As it's a Surrey league, we have Kent AC taking part, as they decided a number of years ago that their own league wasn't competitive enough.  Having been dominant for the past 5 years I think we ran them within a few points last year, but didn't quite knock them off.  The first race though, despite missing a few of our top runners, we sneaked a win, and hope to crush them this week 🙂

Lotto, did it last year and it was brilliant.

I've just done a 5km test run on my ankle as it's been sore for 2 weeks it was ok thank God as I've a 22km trail race on Sat

I've entered out local peco xc league too looking forward to those 🙂

Last event of the year today, a very wet and cold Jimmy Irvine 10k at Bellahouston park. Haven't done much for a couple of weeks, showed today, 46.16 nearly 2 mins from my previous best.

Good end to the year though, this time last year is have struggled to break an hour.

A good structured winter of training ahead should see some gains in 2019...

Was a bit damp for our XC race on Saturday!

We were a little dismayed to see that Kent had brought Alex Yee along (UK 10,000m champ) and predictably he won by a pretty comfortable margin, but we packed our runners in, with our 10th guy in 29th place meaning we won by over 100 points 🙂  I had been feeling pretty flat all week and didn't have a great run, but still just about managed to score for the A team as the 9th man home.

Great photo. We had a drop of rain in Wales too. But the sandy ground drained so well there was zero mud and it could have been run in road shoes. My position in the race was a bit different from yours 109th. Best fun I have had in ages, it was a cracking course and I think the sun may have even come out during the race.

Well I feel a bit inadequate compared to most in this thread, but it *does* say beginners, right?

I used to run a bit a few years ago, then stopped after damaging my achilles tendon running in the woods at night (I was DEFINITELY being chased by a bear, and tripped over a root). Last time I ran with any kind of regularity was probably three years ago.

Mrs Monkey and I are due a baby in January, and the prep for that is already cutting into my MTB time, and obviously come babytime will do so even more - especially since I live in Hull, so it's a good hours drive to get anywhere even moderately interesting. I don't really like road biking, especially in the dark in winter (plus that takes a good couple of hours for a decent ride, AND my bikes are both currently living in an outhouse at my parents to free us up some more space).

To, to avoid me getting fat(ter) I've decided to have another crack at running. I can do it out the door (crappy pavement running, but it's better than nothing) in a morning before work, or after without eating into my day too much. Hopefully I'll even be able to do it with the baby later on next year.

So - first run was this morning! Nice early 6.30ish start, and a very steady 2 and a bit miles around the block. It wasn't pretty, and I'm feeling it a little bit now but I managed it in about 23 minutes at a steady trot after starting off a bit too enthusiastically.

Not exactly world beating, but given that I'm overweight and haven't run in years (or been on the bike that much since doing a coast to coast in September tbh) I'm not too unhappy.

Just need to get out and do it again on Wednesday now...

Well done FMC, everyone on this thread, from a near beginner like me, to the likes of TF had to start somewhere. Keep us updated mate, always good to hear how everyone is getting on.

Will do! Might give me a bit of much needed motivation for when it's pissing it down on the only hour that I can get out...

Clova half for me last Saturday, 1.52 was enough to win the 100kg weight category*  A good duel with the fellow big unit from the Dundee Road Runners before I powered...sorry, ambled away from him at mile 11.

* Yeah I know...no such thing; but I can dream.

Good stuff FMC. I would say that was pretty swift for a first go. I did not even manage 10 mins the first time I tried running and was in bits 🙂

Cheers IACA, it is very flat around here which I reckon helps.

I think my aim is to get up to about 10k at a steady pace - it'd be nice to be able to use running as an alternative to riding on holidays and such, so I don't have to take a bike everywhere.

My legs are still working (I think a mile walk to work after a shower and breakfast is probably quite a big help) but I'd forgotten how hungry running makes me. Trying to avoid snacking but I'm not sure how long that'll last...

Love this thread! Keep it up everyone ..

18:54 parkrun this weekend. Big parkrun PB for me and not far off my race 5k PB.

Managed my first sub 40 10k at Leeds abbey dash last week too.

I spent the summer training for a marathon and the difference that regular and consistent running has made to my running in general has been massive.

the only problem now is keeping the momentum now that the marathon is done! 😕

Just realised that I may have misled everyone - I was the 9th scoring man for our team, in 27th.  I had to put my socks through the wash twice afterwards, once inside out, then the right way as there was still so much sand and grit inside!

The trick I find with the XC season is to try not to lose any fitness over Christmas as it's very easy to be a bit sluggish for the first races in the new year

Stox - consistency is incredibly beneficial, you'll really notice more miles in the legs.  Fully agree about losing momentum though, once the A-race is over after a big time investment, and the next is some way off, keeping motivated can be a challenge.

Stox - get some more targets planned in the calendar.

That's been my plan this year, a half distance race or above at least once a month.

I'm 10 down and 2 to go, it's kept my mileage up all through the year.

I'm not saying that is right for you, but if you have got something to aim for it's also something to focus the mind.

Sub 18 at local (Barnsley) park run this weekend.

First time under 18 at my home event. It's not an easy course compared to the others I've done.

Thought I'd dive into this thread.
I used to run a lot in my teens - always mid-pack, rather than winning much, but I ran for school, borough at county level & for a club; middle distance & x-country were my things, although I hated 1500m on track. My 400m time was 58s & 800 was 2:18 when I was around 16.

It all fizzled out while at uni and when I tried to get back into regular running in my early 20's I always used to get really bad ITB pain. I gave up running after seeing the 5th or 6th physio and being told it was a different problem every time, but do these exercises & that'll sort it - and nothing really worked.

Anyway - I decided in the late August to jog home from the garage while my car was being serviced & see what happened. 1.9 miles at a leisurely pace with no IT band pain - although I could feel it was tight.
I've been doing yoga weekly for the past couple of years & I think that this has helped to release my hips a bit, which has eased the tension on my ITband.

So, since then I've been running a bit & getting more into it - I still get IT band pain, but it's not as bad as it was & I can run further before it comes on. I am hoping that continued regular stretching sorts it out.
I've now done 15 runs (I just checked on Strava); so about 2 a week - and did a 10k (6.2 miles) on Saturday, in 52:11. I wasn't intending on doing 10k - I was intending to do a run I'd done the week before, which was 5.4 miles, but I went the wrong way at the start & added a little loop in. I am pretty pleased with that - it's the longest run I've done for probably 23 years or so.

I now need to keep on with regular stretching & a bit of foam rolling. I am hoping as my running muscles come back too, that will help with the IT band pain.
Plan for 2019 is to completely sort my IT band out & do a few 10k events. I have no idea what a decent 10k time is. I suppose 5min/km is a relatively achievable goal in the short-ish term; Strava reckons my average at the weekend was 5:12/km. So, get my 10k time down to 50 mins & go from there, I guess!

I've registered with Parkrun, but not yet got along to any events - problem is my Wife has signed my 3yr old daughter up to football at 9am on a Sat morning....

stumpy01 I'll bet you'll be surprised at how much you improve - I was a truly rotten runner as a kid - and when I ran a bit in my 20s I never broke 48 minutes for a 10k and my Half Marathon PB was 2:15.

However, I'm 46 now - and have been running for just over a year, went from 48:00 in October to 45:00 in December; and got down to 41:09 a couple of weeks ago - and I'm definitely still improving - I'm no stronger - but I'm much happier suffering now!

Same for my half, I'm at 1:32:00 and it's still dropping - there appears (for me anyway) a lot to be said to coming into running later in life...

I just did a trail 22km at the weekend logs rocks steps bridges streams and tunnels it was hard as hell but great fun got a bit lost and fell a few times, took me 2hrs12 and I still came 29th . Ace run

stumpy01 I’ll bet you’ll be surprised at how much you improve

Yeah, to be honest I have already surprised myself. When I used to run as a teenager, my longest runs were 5 miles or so, because more than that wasn't required for the track events & x-country races I was doing at the time. I did the odd run at longer distances (perhaps 8 miles), but they were the exception.

So, I'm pleased to be bashing out >6 miles within a few months of starting back at it. I'm not really running that often either; perhaps twice a week with no real plan.

I used to love hill intervals, but living nr the fens pretty much makes that impossible now.

I've ordered a couple of long-sleeved tops for the winter & could probably do with an extra pair of shorts & some kind of light for the dark evenings.
I'd like to get a gps watch really (sticking my phone on my arm is a ball ache) but am not really sure what to go for.

Vivoactive HR is very good, had mine for nigh on 2 years now. The newer offerings (vivoactive 3, Fenix etc) are supposed to be much better, they must be really good if that's the case!.

Physio believes I have patella tendinopathy; anyone had to deal with this before? Another set back, grr

I had patella tendinopathy, but it was from having my saddle too low on my bike.

Never had it from running and resting/correcting saddle position eventually fixed it.

Physio believes I have patella tendinopathy; anyone had to deal with this before?

Yep - had this a few years ago. I'd ramped up the training in readiness for a big winter snowboarding trip to Canada with lots of running and lots of singlespeed compounded with an MCL tear a few years previous meant that I was getting burning pain in the patella when riding crud and chop

Saw a physio in Canada who gave me loads of routines & exercises to help improve the patella tendon tracking through the groove and build up strength including loads of foam roller work.

Stick with the physio and I'm sure you will be fine.

Vivoactive HR is very good, had mine for nigh on 2 years now

Cheers NBITF - I'll check that one out.
I've been looking at the Garmin Forerunner 30 & 35. They are both at a good price at the moment, so perhaps newer versions are imminent.
I'm a bit wary of Garmin devices, as my Edge500 was such a piece of turd.

I've also been looking at the Polar M430. I'm currently using an old phone in an arm holder thing, but it's not the most user-friendly option; especially when the phone I'm using has very poor screen visibility when looked at from an angle. Hey ho - first world problems!!

I just did a 5km (bit over) at lunch with a colleague - He pushed me a bit harder than I probably would have run on my own; ended up running 27s/km faster than the previous time I ran that route, at 5:01/km average pace. Pretty pleased with that.

I just did a trail 22km at the weekend logs rocks steps bridges streams and tunnels it was hard as hell but great fun got a bit lost and fell a few times, took me 2hrs12 and I still came 29th . Ace run

That sounds ace - kinda like the running equivalent of what I like to do on a bike, which is kinda what I want to work my way towards next summer.

I’m a bit wary of Garmin devices, as my Edge500 was such a piece of turd.

Aye, tbh the software on both my 500 and 520 was flaky as hell, no such issues with their wrist offerings so far.

It was good flying monkey

I’d like to get a gps watch really (sticking my phone on my arm is a ball ache) but am not really sure what to go for.

I've got a Forerunner 35 and it does exactly what I need. I'm sure there are more complex devises but for tracking runs and being able to measure a few metrics during the run it's perfect. It's uploads easily enough to Strava and is as accurate as I need it to be.

I just did a trail 22km at the weekend logs rocks steps bridges streams and tunnels it was hard as hell but great fun got a bit lost and fell a few times, took me 2hrs12

Thats a really good time, it took me 3hrs to do 26km with 1,341m elevation gain, that run absolutely ruined me.

Err, has anyone else managed to burst an air bubble in a pair of Nike runners? Out on the canals tonight and trod on a thorny branch. On pulling out said branch my beloved Pegasus’s hissed and felt very soft and odd for the rest of the run. At least I now know that there is air in Nike Air’s.

7km tonight! Getting there. My hip flexors start to hurt after about 30 minutes though. Any tips for getting them stronger?

Run quicker and you'll have finished your 7k by then 🙂

I once had a bad hip flexor that took a while to fix, eventually I worked out how to stretch it and the problem went away. Also I sometimes do some simple plyometrics, just hopping really. Not sure it works but probably doesn't do much harm. .

😂

I don’t know what plyometrics are but I shall go and give it a google!

I don’t know what plyometrics are but I shall go and give it a google!

Plyometrics and horrific, yet have a huge benefit. Do them, but expect them to hurt.

I don't do anything very strenuous, just a bit of hopping really. Just hoping that it will increase the spring and elasticity in my stride a little.

So, what are everyone's plans for this weekend? Mine are very Parkrun-centric, 2 volunteer roles on Saturday surrounded by 4 mile run up, and a 4 mile run home, may even get the actual Parkrun in as well. So hopefully 10 miles before an afternoon on the sauce with Mrs Lunge. Then off to Junior Pakrun Sunday to volunteer again, which will also likely involve a wee trot up and back. Just checked the weather for tomorrow and it's going to be a lovely, sunny day which makes it all the better.

Feeling pretty damn happy with that.

Hopefully get a couple of largeish hill runs in this weekend although having had a bit of a cold this week might limit that.

Parkrun tomorrow as an early season benchmark. Not expecting fireworks but interested to see how much work I need to do to get into shape.

Planning to run from Newtonmore to cluny castle via the river Calder and back to uvie farm tomorrow afternoon

Sounds great Terry. Wee local run for me, struggling for time just now, uni stuff getting in the way.

Cycling is kind of getting in the way of running.

Been riding with a local chain gang and they are kicking shit out of me.

I am riding .37lb touring bike though

So, what are everyone’s plans for this weekend?

Hmmm. Got Tiny Tykes football with my daughter at 9 this morning, then straight to a 3yr olds party. Then I need to put a roller blind up in the kitchen and on Sunday I've got another 3yr olds party....!

Am gonna try to squeeze a run in at some point this weekend, but no idea what it'll be; some kind of longer interval session perhaps...

37lb, think of the training benefits!

Just making a coffee to stick in the car then off to Eastville parkrun in Brizzle. Nice still cool 8 deg so lovely conditions for a run.

Nobeer, are you on Strava etc?

Aye, that I am Darcy.

Beautiful morning for a run, enjoy Mr Darcy.

Can me stalk thee?

Absolutely! And me thee!

Cheers andygravelman mine had just over 1200ft , I was it turns out 29th out of 400 so very pleased:)

I have the club's handicap race tomorrow should be fun and then xc series starts next week looking forward to that

Ran from kingussie to Cluny castle by the behind hill path.

18km of bogsnorkling

Did my first marathon in 20 years today. Set out at the start of the year to do at least one half each month and a couple of full ones by end Dec. I'm up to 17 halves now and now a full after I've been struggling a bit with the last 4 or 5 miles. Not fast mind (3:30) but I can work on improving pace.

Reasonably pleased with that as I usually get injured or fed up after about 3 months of running training each year.

What a stunning day today was, in the Highlands at least.

Oh yes it sure was .

What a stunning day today was, in the Highlands at least.

Also on White Sands at Dunbar, round 2 of this year's xc series, surprisingly hard run.

@boblo 3.30 for a marathon is a decent time, maybe not fast fast, but holding 8min/mile for 26 is good going.

What a stunning day today was, in the Highlands at least.

Pissing down here in "sunny" Spain 🙂

So I turbo'ed in the garage instead of heading out into the rain, and managed a massive 1 mile post-Zwift brick session 😆

Well after a weekend of almost uniformly lovely weather I finally had the opportunity to get out for another run this morning (I wanted to run within a week of my last attempt, so I'm only a day out). Last week was my first run in ages, a couple of miles in about 25 minutes (I think) so I had high hopes of improving on that today.

Naturally I awoke to the wonderful sound of rain splattering on the window. Brilliant. I came close to sacking the whole idea off, but I don't have that much opportunity to get out at the moment so I kitted up and got out there.

Luckily for me the rain eased off for a few minutes and gave me a chance to get well warmed up before starting to come down again. I did the same route as last week in reverse, and concentrated on not going too hard too early as I had before. Timewise I improved by maybe a minute which isn't too bad (I'm making a point of not paying too much attention to times yet, and just concentrating on feeling more comfortable on my feet) but by the second mile I'd found a nice steady pace that felt like it was a sustainable. I could certainly have kept going for a bit further.

It'll be interesting to see how my legs feel over the next couple of days - it's my muscles that are the main limiting factor I think, aerobically I could go harder - but hopefully I'm going to try and get another run in on Thursday or Friday and start to build up some strength.

Interestingly I've suffered for a long while with an old Achilles problem, and spending a day pushing my bike up the hill at Stile Cop seems to have stretched that out brilliantly. So maybe I need to start doing more push up days...

So, what are everyone’s plans for this weekend?

SDW from above Lewes to Eastbourne.

Just spotted on Straaava that I've ran more miles than I've pedalled this year! Never thought I'd ever do that!

Got some great running in at weekend up in t'Lakes. Combined a bit of Wainwrighting and recce for a possible future project. Me and @BorderCollieSam at Thornthwaite Beacon.

*Likes*

I'm glad that I'm quite fit at the moment, as the trains weren't doing me any favours yesterday!  Jogged the few miles to Wimbledon Station to find no trains until about 10am, so ran the entire way to Leatherhead unplanned (was going to take the train part-way).  Having run more than 20km in the morning, thought that taking the train half-way home would be the sensible choice, to ran to Ashtead to grab a train from there.  Only after buying a ticket did I realise that the chances of any trains coming along was slim to none, so once again, had to run the entire way unplanned.  Having detoured to Ashtead and loitered at the station for a few minutes I then had to get a wiggle on to get back in time to collect the boy from Nursery.  Thus a 40km day!

For anyone not relishing the prospect of training through the winter, I can thoroughly recommend a Gore Shake-dry jacket.  It's predecessor was the Active Run, and I think the new one has been discontinued.  The most breathable fully waterproof fabric I've ever encountered, amazing for running hard in and not turning into a sweaty condensation filled bag.  I'll probably be wearing mine nearly every day for the next few months.

Cheers, Rich

I wanted to see how I was progressing last night, so the aim was seeing if I have reached my target for the end of year to manage 8 min miles or less for 3 miles, which apparently converts to ~5min/km for 5km.

Went out in the cold & dark last night & ended up doing a 6km route at an average pace of 4:47/km, so was well chuffed with that.

I now need to find a new target, so think I'll be aiming for 10km in under 50 mins. The last 10km I did was 52:11, so there's a little bit to find & my IT band generally starts playing up around the 7km mark onwards, so I need to keep working on that.....

Trying to really space out the runs at the moment to give myself plenty of recovery time, so it's just under a week since I last went out. That was my second run, and I managed 2.1ish miles in 24 minutes. Not exactly rapid (in fact not much faster than a brisk walk if I'm being honest) but it's a start right?

Went out this morning in lovely rainy weather (though once again, it had the decency to stop as I was heading out and not start till part way round. Same loop, the opposite way around. I started off ok, trying to keep it nice and steady, then started to feel it a little bit in the middle (this may be because there's a really long boring stretch - well, longer and boringer than the rest), then felt like I got into my last stride and was going a little bit quicker sustainably for the last mileish.

I'm not using any training devices beyond a stopwatch at the moment, so this is all anecdotal - I used to have a forerunner watch but the body where the strap attaches has broken so that's pretty useless now. I might look into a new one at some point.

Anyway - I managed to knock about three minutes off today, getting round in a second under 21 minutes which I'm pretty well pleased with. I think if I can get round in 18 minutes or so by Christmas I'll be really pleased. I'm under no illusions that I'll be able to keep knocking three minutes off every time out mind!

After that I think I'll start steadily upping the distance over a couple of months and start varying the route a bit more. It's nice to have a set route for comparison at the moment, and it's also handy not to have to cross loads of roads (not that there's much traffic at 6.30) but it's not exactly exciting.

I managed 18km from scolty back to my house yesterday. Ran out of food and water though -ie had none from the start...oops

Also my it band started playing up at 17km ....same as last weekend.

Squat time !

Just started running last week, for the first time since school crosscountry (not counting the time I "trained" for a 10k), and did my third run yesterday.  Just followed <span style="text-decoration: underline;">this walking route</span>, with the addition of a little loop by mistake.  Didn't record it but I'd imagine 14km x 700m.  The climb was very technical and muddy in parts, so didn't get close to running all of it, and it was hard to get a rhythm on the descent as I had to keep stopping and checking the route - obviously not a problem for the next time.  Got very cold and wet on the tops, arrived back at the van and fired up the Kelly kettle to get a brew on, lovely.

Aside from a couple of niggles (blisters, black nails, and a sliced hand on barbed wire), the old body feels ok today so I'll hopefully venture out tomorrow.  It is clear I am desperately slow - bike fitness is good for the time of year as I've been training about 15h/wk since having a month off in summer - but doesn't carry over to running particularly well!  Objective is to find enough form to at least run round with the last group in some local races, and to do some fell races when I'm over in the UK (Dad lives in the south Lakes), but that feels like a long way off at the moment.

I'm trying to keep the GAS to an absolute minimum, but looks like I'll be asking Father Christmas (well, Olentzero over here) for some proper trail shoes and a light rain jacket.

Round 11 of my half marathon or above race (per month) and it was the Clowne (Yes it is a real place) half marathon.

Chilly and damp but otherwise ideal conditions (I like it cool anyway) and no rain.

I wasn't expecting to be really quick but I've done some extra miles in the last couple of months to prep for this and hope for a sub 77.

I managed to get away in the front group of about 6 and got pulled along by them. After half way the group started to fragment and one guy pushed on and left the remaining group to fight for second. A couple dropped off the back and that left 3 three, which became 2 after about 9 miles.

After about 11.5 miles we turned to go up a shallow gradient for about 800 meters and I put in an extra effort to try and gap the other guy which I just about managed and then had to hang on for the last mile but managed to hold on for second, by 10 seconds from third and get a new pb in the process (75:54) so I'm pretty pleased with that given it's not an exactly flat course.

Just Keyworth Turkey trott in December to contend now and my challenge is complete. I've also got a few other shorter races before Christmas too which will hopefully put me in good shape for Brass Monkey half in January, and perhaps a sub 75 - must show self restraint over the festivities!

Oh, I also confirmed my championship entry for London last week so a good week all round.

That's a good effort alanf. I did a gentle 18km which more or less marks the start of my proper marathon training. Recent parkrun results suggest I'm reasonably fit, certainly not pb standard (about 30 secs outside, on soft ground though) but good enough at this point in the cycle.

Is now the right time to start thinking about the best run you did all year?

Did my first run in over 7 months on Friday. Unfortunately there was a bit of sciatic pain in my calf in the following days, so haven't decided to run again. Very frustrating 🙁

How do you know it's Sciatic?

Objective is to find enough form to at least run round with the last group in some local races

Good luck with that, the Basques do like their mountain races... I did a fun little local trail race, 17km with about 950m climbing. It's pretty clear from my final time that I need to train more in the hills, I seem to have lost all the mountain fitness I had in summer. Not too concerned though, this is the off-season and I needed a break.

Cheers Captain, I'm in decent nick at the moment. Been doing run every day since end of September so it seems to be paying dividends.   I'm not thinking about mara training proper until early next year. Just going to keep riding the wave at the moment before stepping up the mileage. At the moment I'm probably averaging about 60 mpw so should be a decent base on which to build.  what's your mara for next year Captain? Will you be at London too?

How do you know it’s Sciatic?

L5/S1 prolapsed disc June 2017, relapse March this year. The sciatic pain is generally in my left calf, and if it is worse, my left buttock.