Newbies 2

Morning (or afternoon or evening depending on what time you're reading this!) everyone,

Meglet and TwoTinNic - thanks for the explanations.  Now I know....

 Back to work this morning for me, after the whole 6 weeks off (I work for teachers so I work term time only!  It's helpful as I have three school age children myself!).  I don't know, but I will TRY my hardest, how I'm going to fit in the sessions, but I think I'll manage, as most of you on here are working full time, and I'm only part time 3 days a week....my husband reckons I will give up when winter properly arrives....gosh I really don't want to.  I will go out in the rain (positive experience mostly from what I've been told on here!) and maybe even the dark (although perhaps not too much, as I would find it rather scary believe it or not - security wise! perhaps not a good idea running alone!).  I've got a session planned for tomorrow, although I work until quite late, I will see if I can fit it in at about 7 am before I go to work!  Otherwise it will be much later in the day, and after working and doing 2 hours (at least) travelling to and from work....I wonder how inspired I will feel to pound the pavements/run walk the park?! 

Good luck training everyone - wish I had more time to reply to everyone, but work is calling my name!

Morning everyone, just getting ready for my "outing" !!!  Having done the 40mins on Friday, supposed to do 35 today, but might just see if I can push it for another 40, foot permitting!!

Busy weekend, so not time to post, but first of all :

Lisa - well done!!  You're making great progress and I'm really pleased that you managed to stick with the run/walk stuff and it's helping you!!  Keep going!  BTW, have you looked at, or posted a thread about your run?  There must be other people doing it and maybe you could meet up - I'm sure there will be plenty doing it at the same speed as you, so you could do it together. 

Mark - well done to you too, that's a great distance - are you planning on doing a longer run each weekend?  Sorry about the blister - luckily, I've never had that sort of problem, so I don't know what to advise.  I did once get a similar-sounding problem with (badly fitting) ski boots - I used thick felt, cut a piece larger than the blister, cut out a hole the size of the blister, and put the felt onto my skin, (over the blister), acting as a "padded barrier"  so that any friction was on the padding and not my skin.  (not a very good description, but hope you get the picture!)

How are the legs this am Meglet??  We don't have many hills here, but there are a few, so each time I go out I have to go up and down within 5 mins of starting!  And it always seems to be going into the wind!!

TTN, sounds fun!! Thought you were up early!!

DH, as the injury Queen, I'm definitely following the slowly-slowly-catchy-monkey route - so, you're right there!

To everyone else - . 

Off to master - I hope - the intricacies of automatic lap-timing on my watch and to see if Friday's techie experience was a one-off, or an on-going piece of technical wizadry. 

Oh, now the cats are demanding breakfast - although, judging by the rather large collection of pigeon feathers in the middle of the garden, they may have had a snack already.................!!!

Morning!  Hope your all well today!

Diane, I know what you mean about being worried about running in the dark, i would be too!  Are you able to do the runs during the day in you days off or at the weekend so that you dont have to be thinking about doing a run when you get home and it will still be daylight?  You could always set the runs into your routine so you know that every week you will be running on certain days?  Im hoping to make running part of my routine so that it just comes naturally to me to get out of the door to do it!

Ha CJ up early in my time off i think not!  Hope your "outing" went well!!

Sorry to hear about the giant blister Lisa! Hope it gets better soon as your doing so well!

Ooh another good review of Pans Labrynth, will be getting the bf to bring it over when i see him tomorrow so i can watch it!! Can I ask a stupid question what does (sp?) mean?! Seen it a few times and cant figure it out!

Its really sunny here, cant decide on the gym or outside...now that ive figured out my watch i think outside wins!!  Now i need to decide whether to run along the beach front or round the playing fields?! Decisions decisions!!  

Morning TTN, think sp = spelling!

"Outing" went well, managed to sort out watch and discovered that while it will do automatic laps, it's only on distance - I wanted to put it to time me in 10min blocks - so it can't!!  Went out too fast, as usual, did first mile 35 secs faster than last time, then did second mile in 9mins dead.  No wonder I felt dead at the end of it!!  Managed to do 4 miles in 38' 26", heart rate constant 172bpm (apparently at 102% - so does that mean it's beating more than it's capable of??!!)   Got attacked by two (of those tiny, silly poncy - type) dogs - woman was walking them along narrow path, in front of me, I called out (politely - in between heaving gasps!!) to warn her (in case she heard the heavy breathing and panicked) she ignored me and muttered something about runners being a nuisance, carried on walking, forcing me into the main (A) road to pass her (much to the delight of the commuters!).  The dogs didn't like me, so tried to jump up, yapping away. 

And that was after a bird crupped on me.  Couldn't believe it, was running along, minding my own business when I felt something wet hit my leg.  Thinking I'd managed to slip on a slug and flip it up onto my calf,  I had a look and (somewhat relieved!) realised that it was (only!!) bird poo!!

Agree with one and all re running in dark - trying to sort my schedule out now.  Got your bags packed yet Jac?!

Sorry about your blister Lisa, don't let it get in the way of the good work that you are doing - hope you can get it fixed - there's lots of advice in our threads and on this w/s - there are, I think, posts on blisters!

Off to the zoo today, No 2 child's penultimate day at home, so off to Marwell - only few mins down road, so perfect, particularly in view of weather!!

Question - my Sony MP3 player is playing up, keeps dying on me, so may have to replace.  Any recommendations?  Not into gadgets, so just looking for music player, must have "hold" facility so that music won't be messed around as I'm running and don't want to spend a fortune.  If anyone's got any thoughts, I'd be grateful.

Be good.

CJ

Doh! Spelling...its so obvious now haha!!

Sounds like you had an interesting run! Annoying your watch cant do what you want it to do! Im slowly figuring mine out but its feeling a bit like rocket science at the moment!

What a horrible old woman! The only nuiscance was her dogs! Grr, why do old folk think they rule the pavements!  Atleast the bird poo got you on the leg not the head! Im sure its supposed to be good luck or something?!

Ordered a pair of boy short shock absorber pants off a shop on ebay and theyve arrived, they said they could double up as hotpants but the material is SO thick i think they should only be used as hotpants, was going to give them a try today but order some ive seen in the sheactive catalogue!

My waterproof jacket arrived this morning, thought i was going to need it but its going straight in the drawer the weathers far too nice!! Ordered a hat aswell so ive no excuse for not going out on a cold day!

Made it past the first step, got my running gear on, just need to get out the door now!

Thanks everyone for the support.

Nic, well I don't normally drink that much before a football game, it was just such a lovely day and I had arrived a little earlier than I had intended so we were sat in the sun chatting and drank way more than i intended.... I don't think it was down to the socks from the placing of the blister i think it is the actual instep of my trainers which is rubbing, it is the part where it raises up to give arch support (and its only ever my right foot i get this problem). I still think the twin skins are the way to go. Although all the new socks I ordered last week haven't arrived (i think they'll take my collection to 11 pairs when they do ) so I will have to see how they fair

CJ i have an ipod nano and it's great for running, but I also hear from a few friends that the ipod shuffle is really good too, it's light, has a built in clip to hold to clothes and has a decent sized memory. Although I'm sure others can offer more insight than me? Thanks for the advice re the blister

Lisa, try a spray plaster! I have it on my one and it really seems to work. It forms a little layer between the skin and everything else, plas it keeps it really clean to help the healing. I think that it's better than a padded plaster!

just reread my post and it sounded like i was slagging you for having a drink oops...i was a bit tipsy when i wrote it hehehe!!! Sounds like you had a good day especially as your team won!

Ouch, is there any way to stop your foot getting blistered if its the shoes?  Sounds like it could be an expensive problem!

The shuffle is very good, i use one and you dont even notice its clipped on as it is really light.  i guess the only problem with it is the lack of screen but if your not bothered about picking the songs and just want to listen to a random selection of songs its perfect!

don't worry about it Nic, i was telling myself off for it too, it's so expensive to go anyway, and then I'm there not able to remember it. Very, very silly.

Not sure what i can do about the blisters. I'll speak to the people inthe running shop this weekend and see if they have any advice/suggestions etc it may be that i can get some new insoles that are shapoed differently or something like that (I hope)

Now, weren't you going out for a run?

aargh im supposed to be but im too tired!! im currently lying on the sofa in my running gear and cant be arsed moving from it! wondering whether to hold off and go out later, maybe have an afternoon nap first?!  Dont want to go out and give up half way through as todays my last day of week 3 and its going to get much harder next time so really dont want to fail!

What should i do?!

I got replacement insoles for my shoes to help support my high arch so hopefully they will suggest that to save you the expense of new shoes, although the insoles cost me about £30!

I'd say if you don't feel great then have a bit of a rest. It always seems to help me. But I'm sure once you're out you'll feel better.

I hope it can be fixed with something that simple, and relatively cheaply too. I didn't realise how expensive this running lasrk would be, after you get kitted out with all the things you need (and those you don't but wanted) it really starts to add up.

tell me about it! i dont even want to think about how much ive spent so far and i can still only run for 5mins at a time hahaha!! All those socks and sports bra's add up haha!  Im now kitted out for summer and winter so hopefully that will be everything bought now!  Fingers crossed you just need new insoles!

Thanks for that, think i will have a rest and head out later, ive got all day so theres no rush!

compeed blister plasters are brilliant, no other makes are the same. they cushion and heal at the same time. my colleague kept getting blisters and it was down to shoes that had too much support so they were too rigid-check how far the dark band on the trainer extends forwards from the arch. he hasnt had another blister since changing shoe.

CJ sounds like a disatrous run! but jealous you are going to Marwell, i grew up near there and have very fond memories. is anyone old enough to remember the giraffe that did the splits-it was on the news for days and he eventually died

Hello everyone - I'm a newbie, so this forum seemed the best place to start!

It' sbeen a long time since I did any real exercise, but foolishly agreed to do the Great North Run end of last year, so here are my goals for 2008 and how I've done so far...

• Lose lots of weight. Frankly over 18 stone combined with a long run is just asking for trouble!

Managed to lose four stone (with the help of Lighter Life & some gentle running), so nearly there

• Get semi fit and run a 10k

Ran the Stansted 10k in mid June in 57 mins - not a great time, but a huge improvement

• Get fit enough to complete the GNR (no time in mind)

Bit stuck here - I'm running three times a week, usually a 3 miler, a 4 miler and a 7 miler. Managed 7.4 miles in 65 mins this morning, but only a month to go and no sure where to go from here. Do I need to try to run 13 miles? I should obviously be doing more miles (but with three kids age 5 and under, time is rather short!), so can I get away with two 5 mile runs and an 8 mile one? When should I tail off my running before the event?

Hoping for some wisdom from everyone, as I'm stumped! Thanks.

Hello everyone!! How's everyone doing?

 Does anyone have a basic training programme, say for a 5km, that i can follow - other than the one on the RW site?

 p.s. the interview seemed to go well - the girl was from Cape Town so it was more a chat about SA than anything else, have to wait and see if i get called back for a 2nd one....

Hey RRJ! Welcome to the thread, think you will find everything you need here! Lots of motivation and advice!

Well done on the weight loss so far, sounds like your on the right track!  Im also trying to lose weight and keep thinking how easy running will be once ive lost that extra 2-3stone im carrying around with me!

Thats a brilliant time for a 10km! Im jealous!! Im running/walking my first one in Oct and if i complete it in 1hr30 that would be amazing!

Ermm, i wouldnt be able to advise you on your running, im nowhere near that yet but there are some more experienced people on here who should be able to help! im sure ive read that you dont need to do the full distance in your training and you should cut down the mileage about a week or so before then event? I wouldnt take my word for it though!  You might be able to find some advice in the training forums on distances etc?

Hey Meglet, like the picture! Hope your well!

Glad to hear the interview went well! Hope you get called back for a 2nd one,

 Heres a link for Hal Higdons website, he has different training programmes depending on your level and my mum always uses his marathon training plans and swears by them!

http://www.halhigdon.com/#5-k

welcome RRJ and congrats on what you have achieved so far, amazing!

take a look on the site for the half mara plan to see what they recommend, but adapt to suit!. as i understand it you should aim for the longest run to be about 10 miles about 2 weeks before, then "taper", ie do a bit less towards the event. perhaps do some shorter workouts with intervals or hills or fartlek. sounds like you have a good running base so i would think you will be ok if you start slowly and take a walk break if needed.

several of my friends are doing GNR too. i may even consider it for next year