Sounds like a busy time @lunge. Good luck with it all.

I’ve got a 62km trail run on Saturday, a trail half the week after then Newport marathon on 24th October. Taking it easy this week and trying to taper.

I know quite a few who did the Brighton marathon and really struggled after about mile 16. Might have been the heat.

Parkrun is great isn’t it? I’ve got my ideal routine now. Run 4km there which is slightly uphill so I take it easy. Warm up is 1 min at race pace – about 3:55-4:00/km, recover, 2 x 100m at 3:00/km. Doing it that way makes the last bit of running fast and when then race starts it doesn’t feel too quick and I can settle quickly into a rhythm. Run home after to cool down.

I usually approach the 5k as an ordeal of pain to be endured. This week, after reading some books and wanting to progress, I relaxed, smiled, concentrated on form, head up, shoulders relaxed, 180 steps per minute, breathing properly and just went out and enjoyed it as it’s such a great thing to be able to do. I’m sure it hurt, but I really didn’t feel it that much which is a revelation. Got a Pb of 19:30, consistent splits and 28 out of 662, which is a 34 second improvement from a few weeks back. Well chuffed.

I feel like I am getting the hang of this, a bit. Still lots to learn.

parkrun is brilliant.
I love that those so inclined can go and have a proper thrash, whilst others just have a plod round and a chat.
The only negative is that whenever I volunteer the first finisher always posts a time I reckon I could beat, but when I run the fast guys are always there! 70 odd runs and still not sneaked a top 3.

Chatsworth 10k for me yesterday. I’ve been struggling with an obnoxious IT band for a bit. Came on out of no where but saw physio last week and she worked some magic – no pain yesterday 🙂 102nd out of 1000 entrants and ran a 48:40 which I was quite chuffed with considering it’s 5k up (170m of climbing) then 5k down and the down was pretty steep in places so you couldn’t just let it go. Perfect for aggravating my IT band but all was good.

Not really any other races for me but I want to try and get an entry for the Sheffield Percy Pud 10k in December and really, really want to go sub-45. I’ve managed 45:15 a couple of times during lockdown but never managed sub-45 🙁

Coming back from 12 weeks of nothing after my bike accident where I fractured my back. Been doing a few 3 mile runs, did a 7 miler and so far so good other than sore back afterwards. Back has healed, just the tissue damage causing the ache. Just trying to get consistency going again, not looking forward to the nights drawing in!

Been a lack of shoe talk for a while! Made use of the August bank holiday offers, bought Reebok Floatride Energy 3 for £50, nice and comfy for longer run. Also Adidas Adizero Adios 6 for quciker runs 72 quid, felt really strange underfoot, may need to adjust my footstrike, wait and see.

Been a lack of shoe talk for a while!

Always happy to talk on this subject, but have limited my purchasing over the last few months. The 2 to comment on are:
Nike Pegasus 38. A huge improvement over the 37, the upper just fits better, nothing more than that. It does run hot though, and I’m still not sure it’s as good as the 36.
Adidas SL2. I commented on these a month or 3 back, but worth mentioning again. Hell of a shoe for very little money, great for tempo runs if you like a firmer shoe.

Debating wither a Puma Liberate Nitro or an Adios 6 next.

Edit, and if anyone has any Nike Streak 7’s in a size 12 sat around doing nothing then hit me up. They are now officially impossible to get hold of!

Still on the comeback trail here (achilles injury). Managed 9min mile pace on a 2.6 mile run with no discomfort (I was doing 8.min 30sec on 10 mile runs in July). Frustrating to be so slow (and so sore the day after) compared to just a few months ago (and I couldn’t run GNR which I was meant to be doing yesterday). Still – I am running again!

Thought I’d stick an update on here – over the Bank Holiday weekend I had three brilliant days out in the hills running the Silva Great Lakeland 3-Day with a mate.

We opted to do ‘Cafe Course’, the shortest of the four courses (Cafe, Wainwright Short, Wainwright Long, Expert), but still rounded out at over 70km with close to 4,000m of ascent over the three days. Would have been a few km less if we hadn’t made a minor nav whoopsie on the first day, but hey, at least it bagged me a trig pillar I hadn’t been to before. We worked on standard Ultra pacing – hiked on the ups, jogged what we could on the flat, and jogged or ran whatever we could on the downs. For me it was a shakeout for kit and legs ahead of Lakes in a Day, and my running mate was still recovering and rebuilding strength after tearing his calf back in Feb, so there was no intention of flattening ourselves.

Day one – 26.1km, 1,501m ascent, 6:26 – Silver Howe, Helm Crag, (High Raise – whoops), Ullscarf, Grange Fell, Rosthwaite.
Day two – 25.4km, 1,491m ascent, 6:01 – Castle Crag, Dale Head, Buttermere, Warnscale Bottom, Honister, Rosthwaite.
Day three – 21.7km, 924m ascent, 4:15 – Langstrath, Stake Pass, Dungeon Ghyll, Lingmoor, Chapel Stile.

Could have gone a little faster if we hadn’t followed the unwritten rule of Cafe Course and had a coffee stop each day, but amusingly we still somehow ended up 4th and 5th overall on the course – you can step up or down but only get a ranking if you run the same class each day. 4th and 5th out of 65-ish still wasn’t too shabby, given how seriously we’d taken the ‘Cafe’ part…

Did my first Great North Run yesterday and my 2nd half marathon race.

Had been running every day between Christmas and mid July mostly 5km each day , then got a tender spot inside the rear of my left foot. So had a break for a 12 day 1000 mile England and Wales bike packing trip.

After my holiday Foot was getting better but still tender so took it easy for another week, got some new shoes , then ran some 5km runs then built up . 8km, 5km km 10 km ,5km, 15km , 21.1 km with the longest run 2 weeks before the 12th, when I did a completely flat mock race in 2h ours. Then ran a mixture of 5km and 10 km runs.

Had a race plan in my head adjusting for the hills on the GNR to do it in 2 hours, but on the day my legs felt good and the down hill from the start to the Tyne Bridge got me warmed up quickly, and running faster than my target down hill pace. I then felt good on the 1st hill and was faster than my target for the flat, so decided to keep that up. This continued to the turn ( this year race ended in Newcastle). Did slow a bit on the slope back up to Newcastle from the Tyne and in last couple of my upper left leg started to ache a bit.

Very pleased to finish in 1:54:30 well inside my target time, particularly as a month ago I though that I mighty not be able to run.

Having lived previously in Gosforth and ran a lot on Town Moor, it was great to run through the city centre and then finish next to the moor and then walk back up to Gosforth high street, with some of the guys I used to run with when I lived in Gosforth.

I think the extended start interval was good, as it was not too crowded on the road.

@lunge – I love my Streak 7s, but they are on over 400km now😟 fantastic shoe. Think the Zoom Rival Fly might be a potential replacement, will have to wait til payday though.

So going to try keep up with this thread, always dipped in and out but never kept up.
Been running a lot this year, really enjoying it. Ran the goggins 4x4x48 over bank holiday and absolutely loved it! The mental battle was weirdly enjoyable! Had some hip pain about half way through but it all came good in the end. Raised some money for mind as well which was good.
Been trying to rest the last couple weeks, ran a 5k a week after 4x4x48 and right knee felt bad, ran 4K last night and it felt better so going to take it slow for a week with lots of stretching. Time to rejoin a gym and get stronger I think!
I’m also weirdly fascinated by the world of ultras now! I might have booked an ultra for next September. Expect all the training plan questions!

First parkrun in a long while planned for the weekend! That’s likely to be a bit of a struggle, I’ve only jogged a few 5ks in the last few months. Will set a benchmark for winter improvement though….

I love my Streak 7s, but they are on over 400km now😟 fantastic shoe. Think the Zoom Rival Fly might be a potential replacement,

Mine have something similar in them, I turned down buying a new pair 3 months ago as I didn’t need any news shoes, regret that now. They’re such a good fun shoe to run in.

Zoom Rival Fly does seem to be as close as Nike now so to a racing flat. They’re quite cheap too so may treat myself.

Stopped work in July and was able to do a bit more running (and importantly for me recovering) Did the local Parkrun after a few weeks jogging and returned twice since, last week knocking about 2.5 mins off the first one. training gradually increasing and not sitting on my arse at a screen all day seems to be helping. The V55 record of 17:58 looks a bit challenging. At least for a while 🙂

Seem to be doing a lot more running these days than riding. I’ve run on and off over the last 5 or 6 years but never doing more than a couple of miles at a time and never really getting so into it that I’d do it for more than a few weeks before I got bored.

Moved to York at the end of last year which has meant less riding from the doorstep so I’ve been started running again and not getting bored of it this time. Still only going once a week but aimed at the start of the year to run 10k initially and within a couple of months did my first 10k and that seems to have become a normal distance everytime I go out now.

BiL mentioned the other week that there was a 10k race last weekend at Tholthorpe so thought I may as well enter it, fully aware that I’ll be struggling to get a sub-50 considering my 10k PR was 54 minutes. Did it in 50:36 which I was well happy with… spent too much time running behind a girl with a nice bum whereas maybe I should have overtaken her but hey, lessons learned 🙂 Think that placed me something like 130/330 runners. Again, well chuffed. Will definitely do it again next year…

GNR last weekend and loved it. 12 min pb for me and after returning from a big injury, I couldn’t be happier. Wasn’t quite expecting the time of 1:49 or even thinking I was capable. Started steady, felt good, pushed on and gritted teeth for the last 6k. The new course was so much easier logistically, shame it was a one off.

Good or bad idea I’ve entered an ultra for next September 🙈😂 it’s 30 miles around Welsh valleys so not big mileage but 4500ft of climbing. It actually goes over a couple hill by risca where I ride a lot so at least I know the hills!
Slowly adding mileage again as my knees recover from the 4x4x48
Ran in around the downs in bristol
This morning as it’s where I’m working, are people in cities always miserable?! I reckon out of 100 runners only 2 actually said morning or cracked a smile!

I’m still recovering from my mostly unknown knee injury. Finally after 5/6 weeks the pain has gone and I can now start to strengthen again. Let’s see how it goes. I’ve said many times I’m done with running, but at times I do miss it, especially running in the hills.

I’m just so stressed about getting this injury back after never having knee injuries before. I still have to manage my back pain, but that is much less of issue these days thankfully.

I’ve said many times I’m done with running, but at times I do miss it, especially running in the hills.

“Retired” dozens of times over the last 40+ years 🙂 Like Hotel California…

I wouldnt worry too much about an unexplained injury returning.

been properly back running a year, got upto running a 1/2 marathon distance fine within a few months but then got plantar fasciitis over xmas, then shin splints after that, had a good stint of running after dropping down to two runs a week, sunday longer run then shorter in the week. all going well but then did a 24mile trail run, totally fine during the run and subsequent runs but feel mild shin splints again, hopefully i have learnt how to treat them this time as got a trail ultra in 3 weeks! i only run trails, couldn’t imagine solely road running, its faster but so aggressive on the body! always get put to shame by my girlfriend who was running 50miles at the weekend then ran the south downs way! and she never gets injured!

@marksnook

Great idea on the ultra. I did 50km last year and have 62km on Saturday. I’m a little apprehensive but really looking forward to it, and I’m far more scared of the marathon at the end of October.

You aim to finish an ultra (most of us do, not race it), so walking, chatting, crying in bushes is all prt of it, but marathons are full on going for a time. You can walk 30 miles and probably still do well.

Have fun and it’s something to aim for

Cheers @root-n-5th
I’ve been kind of fascinated by the ultra thing for a while now. The 4x4x48 was sort of my way oh dipping a toe int he water without fully committing. I didn’t know if it counted as an ultra or not but people have told me it did. Ran every lap, albeit slow on some due to hip pain! I’m weirdly not at all bothered by running a marathon although I do plan to get up to that distance on trail next year, ran the odd half and enjoyed it though. It was seeing footage of the Pegasus ultra marathon series that made me book it, it just looked friendly and fun, no time limits etc
Pretty lucky to have a lot of trail running near Dursley so plan on a whole heap of that

Great idea on the ultra. I did 50km last year and have 62km on Saturday. I’m a little apprehensive but really looking forward to it, and I’m far more scared of the marathon at the end of October.

Seems about right – running a road marathon aiming for a decent time / PB is a lot harder than just getting round a 50km ultra where you can spend half the race walking and chatting…

There’s a reason I prefer mountain to road 😀

Been a while posting on this thread but starting to enjoy my running a bit more again. External stresses and being rubbish in lockdown put me back a huge amount.

Managed to pick it all up again from about June. Bloody good job as did dragons back race last week. Missed cut off on day 2 after 2/3rds of day due to just not being able to run in the heat but did all of the other 5 days reasonably comfortably but not earth shatteringly good. This year had the smallest % of completions at around 25% which was mainly down to it being sooo hot.

Taking a few weeks off from proper running then planning on a 100km back end of Oct. Tour of Pendle in Nov then start thinking of stupid plans for next year.

Need to lose more chub to get back to being a bit faster but all going in right direction.

Good work @ajf – I was following Dragon’s Back and it looked like it had been especially brutal this year!

Dragon’s Back looks good – similar sort of race to the one I failed to finish in Switzerland. Added to the list of possible races for next year 🙂

Was also running the Dragon’s Back last week. Had a strong start and felt really good till i started to struggle with tendonitis up my ankles and shins at the end of day 4, that final road section nearly killed me. Eventually had to drop out at the end of day 5 as I jus couldn’t shift on the flats or descents despite still being able to push on up the climbs.

Overall I was really pleased to make it that far considering how brutal the first couple of days were in the heat and the drop out rates this year. Gutted i couldn’t make it all the way though.

I’ve had a bit of a funny few months with running – since my 100 miler it took me quite some time to get back into things both physically and mentally, but I have found it very difficult to motivate myself to get sessions in.  My overall volume is down and my average running pace is lower than it’s ever been, but I seem to be able to perform better than ever on the short stuff.

Had a 5k at Battersea Park yesterday evening which was billed to be fast with lots of quick guys and girls out.  I was in the first wave of 5, each being quite big at around 45 runners, and had a rather ambitious goal of 14:35, which works out to be 2:55/km.  Started off and felt pretty relaxed mid-pack, but when the watch beeped for 3:00 for the first km I realised that I couldn’t be loitering mid-pack if I wanted to achieve my goal, so worked my way up to the front, which certainly took a bit of effort, and the 2nd km was a 2:49, so on average I was on track now, but was slightly concerned that I would pay for that acceleration later.  Gradually got detached from the front group of 4 but the gap remained fairly static at around 20m.  3rd km 2:56, 4th km 2:58, just about clinging on, very close to the edge of a melt-down.  A couple of guys crept past me in the final ~100m, 5th km 2:49, crossed the line in 14:32, pretty much bang on schedule, feeling totally obliterated.  Significant puking occurred afterwards, losing all of my lunch 😮

The obvious thing to do then was to jog another 5km, skip dinner and go to the pub for a few pints of very strong cider 😀

14:32

Isn’t that less than a minute off the UK record?? Absolutely cracking effort!!

A quick glance at the RunBritain rankings shows Marc Scott at 13:20 from last year at the Podium 5k which rumour has it was short, so a bit more than a minute.  Regardless, I’m pretty happy.  The overall V40 record is 14:10 from 1997, my result puts me at 4th V40 for 2021.

Well done @turboferret great running. Came as no surprise 🙂

Stunning running @turboferret. Who knows how this training business and the human body work? Amazing time.

I’ve just checked the pace guides and I feel a bit better as I have run a 400m quicker than that pace! How on earth you do that for 5k is astonishing.

Interestingly, it’s still a bit slower than WR marathon pace. Which, again, is mind blowing.

First run today after three weeks off with hip pain. Not bad but slow so slow 2km in 15min with a good few stops. Although I did manage a half mile in 1min 43secs may be a Garmin issue but I’m taking it. (I wasn’t that fast over 800m when I was young and fit.

Obviously as you’d have been breaking world records!

Yeah not sure who it was I was perusing on Strava, but definitely someone from here. Very impressive pace combined with distance that would be absolutely unthinkable for me. It wasn’t until I started running, and have been running fairly regularly for a year, that the numbers started to become meaningful.

I can highly recommend the Fox Ultra if anyone wants an autumn race from Godalming in Surrey. 63km, 750m climbing. Tough for me in the heat, but not super tough as I finished it and I’m no ultra machine.
It took me 7:45 which is a little over target, but the weather turned hot so I’m happy with that. 40/80 starters, with 3 DNF. Took it slow and still had some legs at the end so it went well. That’s not to say it wasn’t hard as all the hills came in the last 20km, but I kept at it and ignored the feet and legs.
Some people I was chatting to for the first half finished over an hour down so it’s easy to blow up.
Great support, friendly people, lovely scenery and a nice mix of ultra, relay, marathon and half.
I’m looking forward to doing it next year.

Cracking weekend of running for me.
Friday night was a 5k track race, my first one ever and the first time wearing spikes in 25 years. Finished in a credible 18:30 but left a lot out there, sub-18 is definitely on and I really need to improve my track craft. Did really enjoy it though and will be back again for the next one.
Saturday was a lovely long run, 22 miles including a parkrun in the middle. Absolutely glorious morning that made me realise how much I love running. Legs felt good too, which is a good sign as Manchester marathon is 3 weeks away.
Then Sunday was Stafford half. After the exertions of the 2 days before I was adamant that I was going to take it easy and just cruise round as a training run. Well, it turns out that if I was going to do that I shouldn’t have worn Vaporfly’s and shouldn’t have gone off with an old club mate who’s rather quick. Cue a 1:27 for a PB.

Now to try and taper before the main event in 3 weeks.

Did a race yesterday evening, probably shouldn’t have (given the Swiss ultra only two weeks ago) but it was very local and a 24k run sounded about right as a way to get back into running after a rest. TBH it’s not a race I’d have done usually, at 24km and around 500m climbing it was a bit faster than I’d like, and a lot less technical. But it was cheap and local, and I’m a sucker for putting on a bib 😀 So off we went. Basically it was 2km flat, 8km downhill, a bit of flat, 8km back up and a 2km flat to the tape. I suffered a fair amount on the flat, and overtook loads on the uphill, which was pretty much what I expected. Happily my knee didn’t play up much, and is clearly on the mend.

So I’m back where I started two months ago, as if I hadn’t done a massive ultra in the Alps in the meantime. Given this is what I do most of the year, and it’s what I enjoy, I’m not complaining 🙂

Wow – some great performances above. Well done guys, but really not surprised with the effort that gets put in. Great work all round.
I did a half last weekend, Richmond, around Kew gardens and along the Thames. It really was a great scenic race, although I don’t recall much as I was pushing hard for the most part. I ended up stuck on my own from about mile 4 until about mile 10 when some fella caught me and went in front. It gave me a bit of a kick up the arse that I needed as I think I’d dropped into a comfort zone of just knocking the miles out. I stuck on him and eventually he seemed to be fading slightly so I decided to pass at about mile 12 and push for the finish. It did the trick and he didn’t come back past me so I learned a lesson about staying focussed. Anyway, it was good enough for a PB and 4th place so really happy with that. The ‘magic’ Adidas shoes are great over the longer distances and definitely encourage faster running but also reduce fatigue somewhat, so all in they are a great asset. Roll on London now…

Just a hilly 3 miles for me (1.5 down then a long drag back up – 300ft of climb) but it was a good test for my achilles which appears to have held up.