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At the bonkers/ultra end of the spectrum, Sabrina Verjee is attempting the Wainwrights again - https://live.opentracking.co.uk/sowjune2021/ This is her second attempt this year - she tried at Easter but bad weather and asthma derailed things.
She's currently three hours and a bit up on her schedule which is an hour under the current record of 6 days, 6 hours, 5 minutes. That isn't the women's record, it's the men's. Earlier on she was nearly twelve hours up on schedule but that was probably an insurance buffer.
Well after a tough year and a bit , I seem to finally got rid of covid after a number of stop starts and false hope, I was on a jog with the mrs and somethingin my lung where I'd had pain for months felt like it popped almost like a bone cracking and I could instantly breathe much easierand ive improve day in day out since, in the last 2 months I've managed the three peaks 25mile 5000ft climbs, a hardmoors 29 m 5000ft and the other day another hardmoors 27m 4000ft , not fast but all sub 7 hours elapsed time, happy days
I was going to post about how my sessioning hills went today but I don’t want to take anything away from @firestarter - so well done 👍
Lol don't worry about that mate you post away, I'm just glad to be getting back to it after a lot of pain and false hope I seem to have crossed the bridge back to somewhere, (sounds silly lol but after the year I've had ill stick with it 🙂 )
Despite ot riding a bike in ages I even managed a road ride the other day, first time in over 5 years I did a slow 36 miles with the local club, albeit with baggy shorts and top, peaked lid, 40mm knobblies and discs I got a few looks but I didn't care
And cheers btw 🙂 very happy bunny
25mile 5000ft climbs, a hardmoors 29 m 5000ft and the other day another hardmoors 27m 4000ft , not fast but all sub 7 hours elapsed time
Not fast? Some of us may beg to differ. Impressive recovery and good luck with it continuing.
1st world problem: I decided to look on Sportspursuit to get some cheap shorts for running in. Used the running & shorts filters. Got 3 pairs of shorts for £41. Don't think any of them actually intended for running in. Two Under Armour shorts, one light/mid weight, one light weight, both ok for running in, but too close to the knee in length so hug the top of thigh when lifting knee. One Trespass short, about as short as I'd currently be comfortable wearing, a nice length for this weather, small split at sides, but they're swimming shorts. Maybe I'll cut the mesh out.
Re my running, knee took at least 2 weeks to recover from going for my best estimated 5k. I've run another 10k since and decided to increase frequency to one run in 4 days from one in 5. Feel like I'll need to put off running 10k or going for a best time until adjusted.
Knocked just over 30 seconds off my 5k pb last night with a 22:00.76, would love to break 20mins but at 5'7" and 90kg I'm not really built like a runner.
Well done @nostrils - that's faster than I have ever managed (same height but around 20kg lighter) - I think my personal best on a 5k as about 23 minutes.
As for me - after moaning earlier this week about not having the pace I know I should have right now and saying
I think I am just going to go out and push myself to up the pace I know I can maintain on shorter runs and trust myself I won’t blow up.
I did just that this morning on my favourite 6.7 mile run. Previous best this year was 1:01:43 and did it today in 57:15. Very pleased especially as I had one or two too many beers last night watching the football.
Cheers old bloke
I supported a Ramsay Round yesterday. It was unfortunately unsuccessful but there were at least 4 attempts going on and I'm pretty sure one at least was successful. A busy few days in the Lochaber hills!
Well done Spin, kudos. What section did you assist on?.
Walked the first 60% of the rigby round last week, before we had to change routes due to the wind. I cannot ever imagine doing that in 24 hours!.
I did the Mamores leg but he called it a day on An Gearanach. Nice to be back out in those hills but I'm a bit knackered today as I really haven't been running at all.
I quite fancy doing the Rigby over a few days, I think I've scratched the 24hr itch for now!
Walked the first 60% of the rigby round last week, before we had to change routes due to the wind
It was ridiculously windy all week.
Did another long run last night (for me). A pleasant 9 miles at a steady pace in the evening warmth.
So here's my question - I have a 10k race next Sunday and in the last week I have pushed myself a little harder (a significantly quicker 6 miles on Sunday and a much longer than normal mid-week run last night - two weeks ago I was just doing 2 or 3 miles for my midweek run and I did 9 miles last night). So, with ten days to go, would it be sensible to just do a steady 6 miles this Sunday then a loosener on Wednesday/Thursday next week - just a steady 3 or so miles?
Ohh and my new shoes arrive today (Saucony Guide 14s) I think it's the first time I have ever paid full price for a pair. £125 :-O
It was ridiculously windy all week
It was mental Spin, managed to get first 2 nights in a bit of shelter to camp at Lochan just off Beinn a Chaorainn, then again at Loch Etchachan, up over Derry Cairngorm and Macdui, it was decision time before Mhaim, Devil's point, Cairn Toul and Angel's peak, as camping in 40mph westerly really didn't seem enticing. Not much in the way of hiding places up there.
I'll be back though, I'd like to have a go at it over 2 days, stash near Corrour bothy, but I'd need to get back to hill running again.
I see the record went last weekend? 17 odd hours? mindblowing given the scale of the route.
So, with ten days to go, would it be sensible to just do a steady 6 miles this Sunday then a loosener on Wednesday/Thursday next week – just a steady 3 or so miles?
Not much wrong with that at all, you should be fairly fresh for the race. Personally, I like to do a short and fast run the day before an event as I feel it wakes my legs up, but I know plenty of people who do nothing in the week before so they feel fully recovered.
Ohh and my new shoes arrive today (Saucony Guide 14s) I think it’s the first time I have ever paid full price for a pair. £125 :-O
There comes a point where new shoe day is almost as exciting as new bike day!
Cheers @Lunge
And yes I am excited. I'll be getting the scales out to compare their weight against my old pair (Guide 9s - had them a while as I had two quite long lay-offs with injuries)
had the pleasure of watching Oliver Dustin train at the weekend, he was at the track the same time as my son, 400m reps at between 49 and 51 seconds, unbelievable how fast that is.
Last Friday at 1845 I set off on a long held pipedream to run the Bob Graham Round, solo and sunsupported. The club I'm in does it as an annual event and have quite a few contenders, and its all very highly origanised, which I thought was a bit artificial but until you've done it you can't really comment. In 2017 I did a fully supported BGR (2 helpers, full road support) and completed it comfortably in 21:55.
At the start of the year it looked like 2021 was going to be another fallow year for racing, so it was suggested that I do a solo BGR as it was something I'd always wanted to do. Taking the opportunity I began training for what I thought was never going to happen. Initially it was just going to be a solo run, but then talk of self-supported / unsupported and the various logisitcs and benefits started to be discussed, as well as target times. An unsupported solo round gave me the greatest flexibility, and gave me no excuses to have to go out and try it again in another format.
Over the months I began increasing my training load, however I'd been doing 60 miles per week and 9000ft of climbing since January, but I began to incorporate more long runs on the weekend. In May I did an all nighter starting from Edale at 10pm and did the Kinder Killer route (27 miles, 7000ft ascent / descent) as a shake-down run to test equipment, and myself, again as a solo runner. So at that point I knew I was ready, but due to social engagements and other commitments that was my last(ish) long run before my attempt.
A week before (the 12th June) I took part in the Ennerdale Horseshoe fell race, it was hot and I didn't run as well as I'd hoped, probably not enough sleep the night before, and my body realising that it actually doesn't get on with High5 gels despite using them in training. I finished the race in reasonable shape but this really had sown the seeds of doubt, and I'd started to pick up a few niggles, but worst of all a freshly bruised toenail. However a plan is a plan and it must be executed.
Roll on Friday and we set off up to the Lakes, confident that we'd arrive with 1h45m to get ready, however traffic mena that we didn't arrive at base until about 1800 so a fairly rushed final prep had the adrenaline pumping, and we got to the Moot Hall with a few minutes to spare before setting off. I bumped in to a friend from my club who ws there helping out another group, and then I was off, up Skidaw on quite a humid night. From there on in I was on a good routine of walking the uphills, jogging the flats and downs. I was always increasing my schedule by a couple of minutes at each summit. I had a series of significant milestones that I was slowly working through, the descent of Hall's Fell ridge just before dusk was one of them.
Leg 2 went well and that was the first properly dark time, the lights of other contenders could be occassionally seen, and a number of walkers out and about, something to do with 'Light the Lakes'. This leg went without incident but lost some time on schedule having to stop to take painkillers or sorting out food / clothing, as I didn't stop at the traditional road crossings, there was no need to. Leg 3 started again without event, however there were a few moments in the mist where I was collecting water, or a bit light headed that I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew, however I was still on schedule for a 22:15, and after all I'd be happy with 23:59!
Everyhting got better once the mist broke and the day warmed up, which was on a surprisingly quiet Sca Fell Pike summit (albeit about 0745), and then the fun climb up Lord's Rake and scramble to Sca Fell. Still ahead of schedule I was feeling good and headed down to Wasdale car park.
Wast Dale, what a change of scenery... one of the more remote parts of the lakes but an incredibly high number of vaping punters / stag parties heading up the hill. I had a quick break to sort out food, change my socks and put some rubbish in the bin. I'd made it this far and it would be rude to phone someone up asking to pick me up, so get on with it. Due to the inordinate amount of time it took to find a bin, I was now 5 minutes behind schedule, however I knew I could claw it back. At the top of Yewbarrow I'd clawed back a minute, and so the pattern continued, but I may need all of that advantage on the 'Last Bastard climb' as it had become known in my head - Great Gable. Great Gable is very visibile for a large part of the round, and it looks amazing, however its prominence always reminding you not to get carried away, as its a sting in the day's tail.
It was ascending Kirk Fell that I felt that the wheels were beginning to fall off - I was climbing the Red Gulley, which I'd raceed down only a week before, however once I'd got on to the top I got in to a good rhythm again, and Great Gable was easier than I'd thought. At the summit I was now 10 minutes up on my schedule, at this rate I may be able to beat my original time, but did I want it badly enough? The only way was to keep plugging away. The next few summits passed and I overtook a team on the way down to Honister I'd been following since Kirk Fell, however they took a wrong turn down to the mine.
No stopping at Honister and grit your teeth for Dale Head, a bit of a kicker but think of everything else that had gone before, just keep plugging away. This was the exact advice I'd given to a distraught walker who enquired about whether the skyline was the top or not as they were worried it was too far away. Up along this ridgeline was a highly organised, popular walking event, a bit of an anaethema to what I'd been doing. On Hindscarth I got chatting to another runner who thought I was perhaps doing a reccie. We discussed my schedule, by which point I was 7 minutes ahead of my original time, so a margin, but not one big enough to get too excited about. The final summit (Robinson) went and then I headed down in to the valley, missing loads of inconsequential short cuts that in the various forums are 'essential', and then eventually I got to the road, 6 or 7 miles of hot tarmac back to the start.
My schedule had a little footnote to say that its 55 minutes on the road back to keswick. I was on 20h20m at that point, which meant that my paper schedule was completely wrong (in my favour) and that I could realistically blow my old time away. However I still had to run! And run I did, however I still had to walk most of the uphills, and the cars in Portinscale are a complete PITA with pedestrians having to shuffle in to the hedges at times! The last bit of path in to Keswick I nearly cried with relief that this whole thing was going to be over, and that I'd done such a good run. I got in to the crowded market square for the final 100 metres, only to be turned back by a COVID ambassador as they had a one way system going on. I had to do an additional lap of the markets to get to the traditional finishing point of the Moot Hall, in perhaps the most understated BG finish ever.
Total time 21 hours, 12 minutes.
Total distance 65.36 miles.
Total ascent 26,949ft.
Shoes - La Sportiva Lycan 2
I carried all my own food, kit and filled up with water from streams along the way.
Phenomenal sir, I could've read a lot more detail than that, but tbh I reckon it's no easy to remember everything! Brilliant, I don't even know you Pieface, but I'm sitting here grinning for you.
I hope to have a BGR in me before I get too old.
Very impressive preface, I think I'd have ran through the covid police at the end lol well done mate
Managed another 6 mile at <9min mile pace at the weekend without trying *too* hard as I am 'racing' at the weekend and saving myself for that - quite please to see that my training finally appears to be paying off.
And the new shoes are lovely – so much smoother and more comfortable than the retired pair.
I too am racing at the weekend, a half along the canals between Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Always a fun event, quite a quick course due to the lack of elevation and it finishes outside a pub.
If the weather is good (well, good for running, so cool and some light drizzle!) I'd like to get close to 90 minutes, though there are no guarantees as I still consider myself in the comeback stage.
Good luck - I think my version of 'racing' is far removed from yours though LOL!
Nice one @Pieface - similar distance to the race I've got next week, but with about 2000m more climbing... and I'm guessing from your description part of the challenge is the navigation?
Good luck – I think my version of ‘racing’ is far removed from yours though LOL!
And good luck to you too.
Remember, if it's a race, you're racing. Don't matter whether you finish first or last everyone is going through the same. The nerves, the panic over the pace of your first 2 miles (it's always too quick or too slow, never bang on), the elation as you cross the line, the excitement as you look for your time.
It's been a while, can't wait to get it back.
@mogrim navigation is part of the challenge, but I've done it before and the tricksy bits are well known. I was following a GPS track (not a very good one - I was using a new GPS that I only got the day before) and because I was going solo I had my choice of weather windows. The Helvellyn ridge can be a bit disorientating at the Dodds, in the dark, but other than that its fine. I then went off track (minor deviations) in the mist at about 4:30am but the mist soon lifted.
Remember, if it’s a race, you’re racing.
Cheers - yes that's try - I am racing against me (wanting to beat my PB on the course) and against a couple of other runners I know – one of them beat me last time out by about 10 seconds (and his business is a major sponsor of the race).
It is going to be weird as there is no mass start this year - they are releasing in smaller waves by your estimated finish time (because of covid) so it should be easier to get to the right pace from the off.
Well, it was so good to be back racing again. Set off in waves, but still others around, still pinning a number on and the joy of a pre-race routine.
Went off a bit to fast for the first 2 miles but then settled in to a pace and was within 5 seconds per mile for the rest of the run bar a slightly quicker last mile. Last 2 miles were hard work, but I’d expect that.
And what’s more, a heathy PB and under 90 mins for a half with a solid 1:28. Top 10 in my age category and top 20 overall, albeit in a run not exactly packed with elites! Plus I beat all of my club mates which means bragging rights next week.
I knew I’d missed racing but didn’t realise how much until today. Brilliant morning.
Well done @lunge
As Steve McQueen famously said:
"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting."
Good news - I did really well in my 10k, reaching my target pretty much bang on time (three minutes faster than my PB for the course).
Bad news - My achilles tendon has given way. It was fine during the run (no indication of issues whatsoever) but after sitting for a couple of minutes with a drink at the end, I got up and it was painful to walk on. I have never had achilles problems before and what I am reading about those sort of injuries isn't promising.
FFS
Every chance that's just a bit of stiffness or a wee strain, take it easy and see how it feels after a couple of days.
Every chance that’s just a bit of stiffness or a wee strain, take it easy and see how it feels after a couple of days.
Yeah I am praying that's the case as my training this year was progressing pretty well and I have the GNR in September.
And what’s more, a heathy PB and under 90 mins for a half with a solid 1:28. Top 10 in my age category and top 20 overall, albeit in a run not exactly packed with elites! Plus I beat all of my club mates which means bragging rights next week.
Good job @lunge, last point is clearly the most important 🙂
@johndoh, I'd not be too concerned by that. Rest, stretch, maybe add in some calf raises/lowers and I reckon that'll be fine.
@mogrim, absolutely. Just checked who's attending this week and the only disappointment is that the football is on Wednesday so I may not see as many people!
lunge @johndoh, I’d not be too concerned by that. Rest, stretch, maybe add in some calf raises/lowers and I reckon that’ll be fine.
Thanks for that - I must admit it is feeling much better today. I'm resting it this week and am already doing calf raises. I have also booked in to see my physio on Thursday morning and she already thinks she knows what we need to do to get on top of it. Fingers crossed!
Struggling with my running at the minute.
Don’t know if it’s still the effects of having COVID at the end of February or something else but my running has gone down hill.
I’m currently sat about 8 minutes down on my 5k and can only just sneak it under 30 minutes at present.
My 10k is a similar tale and barely managed to go under an hour the other day.
Neither are important. I don’t race but I know I’m down and it’s getting me down too.
I am just randomly hitting a wall some days. No build up. I will literally just lose it.
Not sure if it’s partly down to me shifting focus to more hiking when I was initially recovering.
I definitely feel weaker in the legs. Hills absolutely destroy me.
Have just rebuilt my old Langster fixie so I can start riding again and get some long slow stuff in.
Ran my first 1500m track race since 2018 yesterday evening. While running to my boys swimming lesson in the afternoon (he was on his bike) my left hip was feeling iffy and similarly so when coming home. Consequently I wasn't sure whether I would bother going to the race, but I jumped on the bike and warmed up to see how it felt. This was a Vets League race, so I wasn't expecting fireworks, and just for a change I thought I'd sit in the pack for the majority. 2 3/4 laps at around 5k pace later, at the bell it was time to go. Pretty happy with a ~62 second last lap, although I was 10 seconds shy of my far from impressive PB.
Warming up for the 5000 which was an hour later the hip wasn't feeling good at all, so thought discretion was the better option and cruised home after cheering on my clubmates.
Hopefully a couple of days of rest and it'll be good to go as I need to knuckle down to some proper marathon training asap!
Struggling a little here too.
Pulled my Achilles about 5 years ago, after a few months of laziness it calmed down and all was well, until a few months ago, seemyling without provocation.
Post-run leaves it feeling achy and stiff, stretching and heel drops dont seem to do much for it. During a run its fine, its after the aches and pains come.
Fortunately riding doesn’t cause issue!
Amazing efforts all. @pieface
- that’s an incredible achievement.
I had 2 races this week. 3k relay on Tuesday that was fun. Hit target pace of 4min/km.
Dorking 10k today. I only entered at last minute and haven’t trained for specific distance. Easy first 5k running with someone who was around the same pace but then the hills started. Legs were dying by the last but somehow managed a PB of 43:41 on Strava and positioned 4th in my age cat, out of about 27. Was blooming’ tough but I’m buzzing a bit from it now. So good to do some races again.
From my brother this morning;
Just ran my second fastest 3k steeple in three years at masters champs 11:28:87 -
* Scottish gold v55
• V55 record
• v55 Championship record
& 10th position on uk all time list
He is quite rapid for a bandy legged old git.
Only ran a couple of steeplechases. They are incredibly difficult and those barriers are high, unforgivable and become exhausting, not to mention the water jump.
He has done very well particularly at his age (I can say that as we are in the same age group) to keep the flexibility and fitness to keep running them. Well done to him!
Did my first race in nearly 18 months on Friday, a 105km ultra in the Pyrenees. On paper it didn't look too bad - similar sort of distance and height gain to other races I've done. In practice, it was quite a bit tougher...
7:30am, and I set out at a decent pace with a couple of mates who are generally a bit faster than me, and stayed with them until the first aid station at around the 8km mark with 400m or so of climbing. I was struggling to maintain their pace so (generously 🙂 ) let them go, with the idea of doing the rest of the race at my pace. I was right to do so, as I'm what the Spanish call a "diesel", not that much top-end speed, but I can keep going for ages. I'm not going to say the kilometres flew by, they didn't, but I kept on going and despite the heat and humidity slowly but surely the total distance went up, and the remaining distance went down.
13 to 30km or so was the longest climb of the day, but with relatively fresh legs it wasn't too bad. As usual the 11km downhill after was far tougher.
The main feed station was at 46km, with hot food and the opportunity to use stuff from your "life bag", which was a 30l plastic bag containing whatever you thought you might need. In the end, and despite filling it with approximately 1000 gels and associated crap, I didn't use any of it.
An endless 8km downhill stretch, which sounds great until you actually have to do it, and then another 600m climb. All good fun. A relatively short downhill, feed station, and then it all went horribly wrong for me and just about everyone in the race.
Up until this point most of the race had been on relatively well marked trails with nothing too technical. Thankfully the sun was starting to go down, so it wasn't that hot, but of course a bit more light is always handy when you're navigating a scree field. It was a 900m climb, with a bit of scrambling towards the end, but the killer was the 400m descent after. Picking your way down through the scree with the always-present promise of a twisted ankle (or worse) is never that easy, but by this point we'd all been racing for over 14 hours, it was dark, and you had to tread very carefully. I was following a couple of French guys who were going a bit more slowly than I'd have liked, but at the same time I knew there was a fair distance to go so better safe than sorry.
Incidentally, they were the only French runners who voluntarily spoke to me all race. The Spanish were great as usual, and happy to cheer you on and offer help. The French, not so much. French spectators were also quick to offer an "allez, allez!" or similar... but the runners? Bah.
Anyway we made it down to km82, and that was probably the most depressing part of the whole experience. The race bib had a copy of the race profile on it, and I'd been estimating how much climbing was left. I'll admit my tally and what Garmin was telling me weren't exactly aligned, but I was kind of hoping the electronics had failed. But as we picked our way down the hill to the feed station we could clearly see the lights of the runners ahead of us as they made their way up the next climb, and *. It looked like a little bump on the race profile, but up close and in person it wasn't. *.
SO I dragged my sorry arse into the feed station, and grabbed a coke and a bite to eat. Looked around, and who should I see but my two mates? LOL, they'd blown up 🙂 Dani was holding his head in his hands and close to giving up. Juan clearly hated the world and everyone in it. I wasn't feeling great, but schadenfreude in a wonderful thing and perked me up no end. So I wandered over and told them to stop being so wet, we had a race to finish. It took a bit of effort, has to be said, but I managed to convince them. And the 3 musketeers set off for the last 23km of the race.
And what can I say? I'd like to meet the race manager in a dark alleyway sometime, baseball bat in hand, and let him know just what I think about 400+700+400 climbs in the last bit of an ultra. It'll never happen, but I can dream.
The last 6km include over 1100m of descent. Unfortunately my mates had recovered a bit by then, and decided to run it. There were a few moments of lightheartedness when we tried to provoke the French into speaking with a cheerful "Monsieur La France qué tal vas? Ánimo!", which inevitably drew little more than a grunt, but my in general my memories of the final descent are of a burning sensation in my quads, and an overriding desire to get the bloody race done.
And then it was. A bit of a let down, really, as the three of us made it to the finish line at just past 6am, and there weren't that many people around to cheer us on. But at that point, who cares? We'd done it. I finished 277/951, with over 35% of the starters abandoning the race.
Next race is at the end of August, I should be recovered by then 😀
https://www.aranbyutmb.com/cdh/
(And despite my comments above about the race manager, I feel I should point out that the race organisation was impeccable, the feed stations well stocked, the volunteers wonderful, and the scenery incredible. The locals were also 100% behind the race, and hoteliers overjoyed to have 4000 runners + friends/family/partners turn up just out of season. If you're looking for a (tough!) race at the start of next July, this is definitely one to consider.)
Christ, that sounds brutal! well done sir.
No, Swiss Peaks.
Ah, looks good - not heard of that before. Good luck!
Awesome work mogrim.
Epic race Mogrim, I'd like to do something in the proper mountains!
What do people use/recommend to carry water with them on a run? Im training for a half at the minute and doing about 12/14k at the weekends which ill increase steadily over the 6/8 weeks; I really should think about taking some hydration with me.
Depends on your pace and what else you're carrying!
Shorter runs with minimal kit (just keys, phone etc): Salomon Active Belt with a hard bottle or a Montane bumbag with a soft bottle or two
Longer runs if I'm carrying jacket, layers etc: One of a few vest packs, either with soft bottles or a bladder.
Me personally, I don't take water up to a half on normal terrain, hilly stuff I'd take ultra vest with a soft bottle. I've a m,ate who only really hill runs, he carries a wee summit to sea collabsable cup, seems to work for him.
Ditto the water comment, however I found it did take quite a bit of time to be able to wean myself off water for the longer runs.
For medium runs I put a soft bottle with a lockable spout (Dectahlon Kalenji) in my bumbag.
Long I have a couple of soft bottles in my race vest, and a little collapsible bottle.
When its long / hot and I know there's no reliable water I'll take 3 soft bottles (1.5 litres) and a cup.
I rarely use a bladder as they're difficult to fill from little streams.
Upto about an hour, just drink well before and after.
Over about an hour and a half, I have a small belt with 250ml soft bottle. I try to hold back until about half hour from finish, then it really helps.
Around three hours, vest with two soft bottles.
Other option i like sometimes is run light and use a shop
What do people use/recommend to carry water with them on a run? Im training for a half at the minute and doing about 12/14k at the weekends which ill increase steadily over the 6/8 weeks; I really should think about taking some hydration with me.
In my view its not necessary unless you are out for a very long time. This whole "drink before you are thirsty" malarky is marketing IMO
What do people use/recommend to carry water with them on a run? Im training for a half at the minute and doing about 12/14k at the weekends which ill increase steadily over the 6/8 weeks; I really should think about taking some hydration with me.
I don't carry anything, well, maybe a gel if I'm going above 15 or so miles. Just make sure I'm well hydrated and fed before I leave the house. I've started carrying a facemask with me so if I get really thirsty I can dive into a cafe or similar and ask for a glass of tap water.
In my view its not necessary unless you are out for a very long time. This whole “drink before you are thirsty” malarky is marketing IMO
I agree. Having anything in my stomach and running is a miserable experience. I can actually hear my internal organs slapping around.
Agree with the above - unless it is very hot I don't take a bottle with for anything up to half marathon training distance (I usually top out at about 11 miles on training runs). For the occasional time I take a bottle, it's just one of those small grab bottles with juice in it.
I did my first ultra at the weekend, the Lakeland Trails 55 (anybody else there?).
I was aiming for 8 hours, crossed the line in 8 hours and 10 minutes, really chuffed with that. It was actually 58 km with about 2500m of climbing.
I set off well, remembering to pace myself and not get carried away with trying to keep up with others. Saw a few people blow up on the first big climb up to Kirkstone Pass. Luckily climbing is my special skill 😊 Had a bit of a wobble halfway, as I wasn't eating enough. It was so warm and humid, I just couldnt stomach anything. Luckily they had soup at one of the feedstations and that saved the day!
It was a lovely event, really well organized. Fully signposted and marshalled. There were people cheering, clapping all over the course. There was even cowbells on the way into Grasmere. I'd definitely recommend the event to anyone wanted to do their first ultra.
I've got the Lakes in a Day in October next , just over 80km. Which I'm feeling more confident about after the weekend.
The winner of the 100km course finished in 9.5 hours😱
Historically I've not taken any fuel/fluids with me on training runs, unless they're long and hard. Happily run 20 miles on a completely empty stomach 15 minutes after waking up in the morning.
However, subsequent to my GI issue mid-way through my 100 miler, I've started trying to train my guts to handle getting carbs in while running. I've been mixing my own Maurten equivalent to save a huge amount of money - maltodextrin/fructose in a 2:1 ratio plus some pectin and sodium algenate to turn it into a hydrogel. Yesterday managed to get 240g/carbs in dissolved in 1 litre of water (150% concentration of Maurten) on a 2 hour run with no issue.
Upside - run was calorie neutral
Downside - cannot pig out on junk all day to compensate
I've been carrying this in 2x500ml soft flasks on the front of my homemade ultra vest. It does feel like having a pair of bouncy boobs to start off with (I would imagine, not being blessed with any personally), but you get used to it
Bargain shoe post, Puma Velocity Nitro, a very nice daily trainer which has a good bit of pop if you do some speed work. Currently a quite ridiculous £38 with the discount code at ASOS. Free returns if they don’t fit too.
https://www.asos.com/puma/puma-running-velocity-nitro-trainers-in-black-and-orange/prd/22502813
Bit of a long shot but i just wondered if anybody else’s was taking part in this years Thunder Run?
Third time for me. Tough but a really enjoyable weekend…
double post
Bought a new pair of spikes at the weekend (despite having only run 4500m in my last new spikes 😀 ) and tested them last night at the Vets AC 5000m champs. Not a competitive field so I was anticipating running solo, and it was a warm evening, so unsurprisingly it wasn't a PB. I do find it strange that I run faster on the road than the track though, I equalled my parkrun PB of 15:35, and was 22 seconds slower than the 5k road course which starts and finishes on this track but includes a decent hill in the middle 😐
Shoes look nice though and I got a wee cup to look after for a year 🙂
Are those Nike Victory's? I have a club mate with a pair if so, said they#re rapid but really uncomfortable.
Re. the track v's road time, that is strange, I'm definitely faster on the track, but I do know some people who like road as you have variety of gradient to help you recover.
@lunge yes, Nike Air Zoom Victory. Not super plush, but I didn't find them uncomfortable. I'm probably not running quickly enough to really benefit from them so may well have been quicker in my Dragonflies. We'll perhaps see next week when I have a track mile.
I think the track is as much mental as anything, running round in circles vs actually going somewhere...
parkrun returns tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to it. Can't wait to see so many people I've not seen in 18 months, although I'm not 100% sure I can remember how to be a Run Director!
Hmmmmm....
Been asked of I wanna run a support leg of BGR in sept, I've not really been doing much, and no hill running of note, but a lot of hillwalking.
Head says no, heart says yes, as I really fancy a go myself in the next couple of years, be good to recruit a few helpers!.
Coincidentally, I'm walking it with a couple of mates over a few days next month, camping a couple of nights.
Have we done this yet?
#bawbagcentral 🤣
#bawbagcentral
Accurate assessment I feel.
£15k 😮 😮 😮
48 followers on Instagram, 9 on Twitter, 9 Likes on their FB page.. will this event even go ahead?
As running is the talk of the forum again thought I'd bring this thread back up.
Everyone well? Any tales to tell?
I've been really enjoying parkrun being back. I was run director for the first 2 which was great fun seeing people back out there. Decided to run the third and bagged a top 5 and a healthy PB.
Unsurprisingly my training regimen has nosedived since completing my BGR, still doing about 30 - 40 miles per week but don't feel that I have the energy ATM to hit 60+ miles a week again. Is that due to motivation or my body saying that I've done enough already for the year?
How were your numbers lunge? Busy?
Been lazy for months, 10 miles a week, pish. Need to get back on it.
I've been trying to get back into running a bit. During the 30 min exercise thing we did at the beginning of the year I managed to get my distance up to around 12km but then Covid struck and then I
had horrid side effects from the vaccine for a week or two. Then I ended up back in a bit of a dip with my depression so it's took time to get going again.
I am one of those people - when I am on an exercise drive I can stick at it but if I have a forced gap due to illness or whatever it can take me months to find the motivation however this year I have at least carried on putting in little efforts here and there.
No I am back on it I do a very steady treadmill run at the gym to kick a session off and am trying to do at least 5km on the roads once a week. I do really like running, as a teenager I was quite handy and ran at county level.
My goal is to run at least one marathon - doesn't have to be an organised one, even just the distance will do, and if I can get my base runs up from 5km to 8-10km as well as a regular thing I will be happy.
Rest day today though - two good gym sessions Monday and Tuesday so just a stroll with the dogs later...
How were your numbers lunge? Busy?
We were at 320 ish per week pre-lockdown, we're at 250 ish now but going up week on week. That works well for us as it's eased things in slowly and not upset the council to much.
First proper (timed) race back after lockdown on Sunday.
This was also the last race I did just prior to the first lockdown (March 2020) so good to see how things have changed over the pandemic.
The difference being this time I had some 'special' shoes (Adizero Adios Pro - like vaporflys but Adidas).
The shoes are quite different to normal shoes and do indeed make you want to run faster with noticeable extra cush and a spring like feel that propels you forward. The other plus is that fatigue hasn't been an issue during or after the event.
Anyway, over a 9 mile course I was 90 seconds quicker and gained a couple of places overall, so maybe things are in good shape for early October and re-scheduled London Marathon.