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!
