VLM 2013 Outsiders Thread

Miggito that made me laugh about not missing the 'it' bit when searching for the BritMilFit as it never dawned on me  it's good sessions you get at them and it's always hard and variable.   Falkirk aint that bad 

Had a 9k [5.6m] fast run today but somehow couldn't seem to speed up but managed to keep it at 7:47 min/mile so not too disappointed and now 2 rest days thankfully and hopefully won't go stir crazy.  Should be able to get a better idea of my estimated time when I start running further and see how I feel.

When do you get penned in your timing pens?  Is it decided when you apply or does it get decided closer to the event?

Roger that's some recovery run pace for someone in their late 40s  well impressed and will certainly be asking your advise on some speed sessions, if that's ok?

Dave b 74 do you go running in Glasgow at all?

Paul Gunn 64 - advise anytime, I would gladly help.

My legs are in bits now though after a really hard week. Today was very tough as I had to do a 25 minute Tempo - 1M warm up then 4 miles 25 minutes and 1m warm down. I managed the warm up then 4 miles in 27:15 then warm down, My legs were aching and the widd (45mph gusts) didn't help me. Still only a brick session tomorrow and the four days off to work at the NEC which will be a much needed break. The only bad thing is that I miss my LSR this week

Reading this thread with interest  I have had to back off on my sub 3:15 programme as I was in peices after 4 weeks!!!  Not able to recover properly in time for the next day, niggles were in danger of turning into full blown injuries, so I have popped myself a couple more days rest each week to recover.

Rest day yesterday and Physio last night and then did 10 miles after work today, nothing fast (avg 7:50 min miles) and it felt great, the most enjoyable run of my training so far, I now realise that I have to enjoy what I'm doing or what's the point???

Planning to coincide my long run on Sat with the local Park run, which is 12 miles away, figure I will steady run there, take part (albeit slowly!!!) and then let the wife pick me up and drive me home   That way I can have a rest day on Sunday, which means I can have a glass (or two) of wine on Sat night (have had a dry January to help the training!!!)  Happy Days!!!

Roger - love the comment "Still only a brick session tomorrow" said so nonchalantly....  30 mins hard bike followed by 19 min 5k...  amazing!!!  I can only dream of sub 19 min without doing the bike bit first

Matt76 - Good decission to back off a bit but from my last experience of the RW sub 3 plan which I done before Snowdon and Athens last year I struggled for the first four weeks and then it just seemed to click and become doable. I have to say that this time it is much easier even if some of the sessions are on my limit pace wise. The key for me is my recovery day when I do no exersise at all.

Done the brick session this morning but the bike was murder which slowed the run a bit. They had me ride at a cadence of 100 for 30 minutes and at 220w which I find borderline hard at the best of times. I then managed 5k in 19:43 and the funny thing is I felt like I could do 10k at that pace but I couldn't seem to up the pace to get down to 19 minutes which I done last week at a cadence of 90. I find it difficult to run fast on the treadmill and inside. My 5k pb is 17:58 and I don't think the brick sessions slow my running down, I think it is the treadmill....

Anyway I go away until next Wednesday so a good few days rest for me and I think I am a bit overdue so I will try and enjoy it.

Still no alcohol for the year, although free beer and wine with good food for the next few days will be the big test!

I hope you all have a good LSR this weekend.

I had a great 21 miles LSR this morning..was really amazed at how good i felt at the end. Kept pace fairly constant around 7:50 mins/mile..(apart from mile 14 when i saw a running club in the distance going at maybe 8:30-9:00 mins /mile and i obviously had to speed up and overtake them just to make myslef feel good)

Paul, i do my training runs on the southside of glasgow..and also run from home to work in Yorkhill, and back, at least once a week. I have been to a few parkruns at Pollok... but i am not a member of any club. Are you?? VLM will be my 3rd marathon and i still feel i am able to stay commited to my training and because i work different shifts i need to train at different times of the day.

Miggito, that is great what you are saying about the pens not being too busy. Does anyone know if, or when, you can try and change pens..at the expo?? I think i put in my expected time as between 3:30 and 3:45, but after finishing Dublin in October in 3:16:00 and knowing my training is gearing towards nearer 3 hours does anyone know if there is a chance to move up pens. I am doing Alloa half in March and would like to know what time to aim for as proof of my improved expected time.

Hope all the runs went well at the weekend - I missed my LSR, got a severe case of man flu at the minute! A little psychological dent in the training but should hopefully be back on track for next weekend. Maybe not a bad thing anyway as my Sesamoid issue has been flaring up again, which is more concerning for me!

Dave B - you're just showing off now with your run  I can't honestly remember if you can change pen at the expo,I would doubt it as they'll have it all allocated by then, probably best to phone them up if you really want to get the advantage. I was thinking about running Alloa too, have you done it before? It's a toss up at the minute between that or the Meadows 1/2 Marathon to incorporate into training plan?

Matt, if I can do 7:50 min/miles on the day for 26.2 I will be ecstatic! That's my tempo pace!

Treating myself to a sports massage on Wednesday, hopefully that will cure all my niggles!

PS. Come on you Bairns

Oh no, man flu!  Nightmare...

Nice slow 10 miles for me at the weekend, hard work but felt OK at the end.  I'd forgotten how hard it is when you get to that sort of mileage and you're as unfit as I am and... well... Not Built for Speed!

But I'm still managing to stick to my schedule... 12 mile LSR next weekend, scary!

Happy running everyone

Miggito - Hope the Man Flu is not too bad, not sure what a 'Sesamoid' is....?  Sounds painful though, Sports Massage sounds like a good idea.  I have seen the benefit over the past couple of months, our local Sports Therapy College provides a service every Wednesday where for £6 you can go along and have the 2nd/3rd year Sports Therapy Students 'practice' on you for an hour.  Really is good value for money, prior to that I had a couple of appointments with a Private Therapist and paid £40 per hour for the privalige and made no improvement, two visits to the College and I was back up and running (no pun intended!) again.  Since then it's a regular part of my weekly training plan

NBFS - sounds like you are doing great, if you felt OK at the end of your 10 miles then you will be fine with 12 at the weekend

I seem to be enjoying a bit of a purple patch with my running at the moment.  I decided to combine my LSR with the Park Run on Saturday, so off I set just after 7 a.m. on Sat morning to cover the 12 miles into town, fantastic to see the sun rise across the fields as I ran through the countryside.  Arrived 15 mins before the start of the Park Run, I wish I had run more slowly as I cooled down quite quickly while waiting for the start (think I will set off 10mins later next week) and then managed a reasonably respectable 40th place in 23:04.  10 miles post work run today was great as well, rest day tomorrow then letting the students loose on the knots in my calfs & Thighs on Wednesday!!!

Hope you all have a good week

Hi all.

I've never run in any events before. I've been a sporadic plodding runner for about 8 years. I have gone a couple of miles past 1/2 Marathon distance in the past, but not for a few years. I was going through a squash playing / not running phase last year and tore my hip ligaments badly. No hard exercise on my feet for ~6 months recovery. I have given up squash as a bad job for now, and very tentatively started going running again a couple of months ago without any specific goal in mind, just fitness/enjoyment.

Somehow I have managed to rope myself into the VLM as a last minute stand-in on a charity team today, so 8-9 weeks to get ready.

I did 9.5 miles on Saturday in 90 minutes, and a couple of runs last week - one interval session and one 5 mile run with the middle 5k as fast as possible (not very in my case!)

So, maybe I'm being optimistic, but I'm going to have a crack at it. I'm thinking I might do a local 1/2 marathon at the end of March so I have at least done an event before the big day.

My only goal is to run the course and finish without actually walking. I suppose I had better work out some kind of training plan now

Rob,

you sound like you're in pretty much the same place as me.  10 miles took me 1 hour 37.  I've run a training plan off Runners World but it doesn't really involve enough runs, at the moment just 3 runs per week.  So, I'm going to carry on doing what I've been doing, recovery run 4 miles Tuesday, speed session Wednesday, 5 miles.  Easy run Friday, 6 miles and then long run on Sunday... this week 12 miles, next week 14.  That combined with a gym session each week and 2 rest days seems to be working for me at the moment.

I don't think you're being over optimistic at all and if you can build the mileage no reason why you can't get 'round in a reasonable time, maybe 4 hours 20 ish...

Good luck!

Hi All,

I was offered a Golden Bond place for the Meningitis Trust back in October, and though i have done a few training runs since, my 'real' training started on Saturday with a 15 mile run which took me 2 1/4 hours. I have a few races booked, the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon next Sunday and the Cranleigh 15/21 at the end of March.

My problem is finding the time to train properly as i have my 3 year old daughter for a week at a time and struggle to find someone to look after her for me.

Heopfully i'm going to be able to squeeze in a LSR each weekend with perhaps a few interval sessions during the week but the run last Saturday made me realise just how hard this is going to be!

Yep, sounds like we are at about the same stage NBFS... I too am not built for speed - when I played rugby I was always in the pack - not exactly a racing snake build! Good luck to you as well!

I read a few training plans last night. I dislike and can't work with rigid routines as my working hours are erratic. I know I need to do the miles, but I'm also worried about injuries from over-training.

I'm aiming to do 4 runs a week; LSR, recovery, a tempo or fartlek type session running for a set time and targetting pace rather than distance, and an jog+interval session. It seems to help/suit me to give my legs 48hrs of rest each week, so I will be aiming to group my runs together a bit to make sure I get that too. I'm going to focus my distance gains mainly into the LSR for the remainder of Feb, then I'll take stock and plan accordingly.

Sharky - treadmill or a static bike in the house to get some endurance work done for the weeks with the little one perhaps?

Have a bike in the front room thats been sitting there pretty much idle for years, might be a good idea to use that! Cheers Rob

Getting busy in here now, good to see! Matt - Sesamoids, wee bones in your big toe joint - I fractured one in 2011, been having bother with it ever since!!! I''m very jealous of your £6 sports massage, after some serious googling there is noone in my local area that does that! Well done on the running, I do have to ask though - why do you have the Flumps as your Avatar?!?!

Rob, good on you mate for getting out there and doing it! Would definitely recommend doing a 10K & 1/2 before the Marathon if you can. Re training programs, do what feels best for you. I'm doing a 3 run per week schedule (interval/tempo/LSR)  due to forementioned sesamoid issue and Xtrain on bike / elliptical once or twice a week and don't put myself under any pressure if I miss a run or two. You said it yourself though, don't over do it trying to cram the runs in, the LSR will probably be the most important one for you so would concentrate on building that up a mile a week up to 18 - 20 and then taper back, I know someone who was in a similar position and that approached worked for them.

Hi Sharky, I'm with Rob, the bike can be really good for those times when you can't get out running, it's different muscle groups blah blah blah but still cardio. For VLM2011 I had to stop training for about 6 weeks due to a bursa issue and the bike became my best friend. Although it's not ideal trying to emulate a long run on a stationary bike - if you do try it I would recommend a cushion  but seriously I find the interval sessions on the bike just as tough as the running!

Good on you for doing the Charity place, I got in this time in the ballot (2011 did Clic Sargent charity place) but going to raise some money for Yorkhill in Glasgow anyway - couldn't let an opportunity like this pass  

Good on you miggito raising money for Yorkhill- great cause (although i might be a bit biased since i work there..lol ). I also got in with the ballot and have decided to raise money for a local group (HOPE for Autism) who have helped us with my oldest boy who has Aspergers...donations are starting to pick up now after the christmas lull.

By the way, i was definitely not showing off with my long run on Sunday. i was just trying to get across how positive i felt afterwards...and also say how lucky i feel that i have escaped any major injury and have,at the moment, a fairly good level of fitness. In October 2011 i was over 17 stone and when i started running then i was happy if my long run was about 6 miles ( and it took me well over an hour). So i know we are all at different levels, but when you are training (or indeed running the London marathon) i guess you are only dealing with yourself. I know in April there will be hundreds and hundreds of people  ahead of me and others behind me, but all i am focusing on is beating my time of 3hours 16 mins.

I haven't done the Alloa half...but one of the girls in my work did it last year and said it is very well organised?!! If you decide on doing Alloa give us a shout.!!

NBFS- stick to your schedule and it WILL get easier. You don't have to be fit and ready this week...you have to be at your best on 21st April....keep focused.

I would back up what everyone else is saying about cycling as an alternative/ extra exercise whilst training. During my first marathon last April at mile 21 i felt great cardio wise but my Quad muscles at the front of my thighs were agony and i really struggled to finish. My next lot of training for Octobers' marathon i did increase my training to 6 days a week, but i feel more importantly i started cycling to work and home (16 miles a day) and felt the benefit.

Sharky 127- take care you don't overdo your training by doing too many long runs because you can't fit runs in because you are looking after your daughter...take it easy, build the miles up...you don't want be over-trained and risk injury.

Cheers Miggito, I'm running for the  Meningits Trust as i collapsed with it just under 3 years ago and spent 3 weeks in hospital including 2 days in Intensive Care unconcious on a ventilator. I was lucky as i work in the hospital and was told that there was a high chance i would have died but for the very prompt diagnosis and treatment i received!

I pick my daughter up for another week tonight so the bike it will have to be...2hrs in front of England vs Brazil tonight doesn't sound so bad!

Dave b 74, thanks, the thought of picking up an injury just before the big day after all teh hard work i'll have put in doesn't bare thinking about!

Cheers Miggito

2 mile jog each way to warm up/down then 5x45 second sprint intervals for me last night. Stretched for several minutes before sprinting and more stretching than usual when I got home - legs feel good today, less stiff.

No more running planned until Saturday LSR now, I'm going to do some upper body strength work, might go out on the bike on friday if I feel really keen!

Sounds like a good session Rob, god it was cold last night!  I did just over 6 miles but didn't really get warm at any point - under 10 minute mile pace which I was pleased with, felt more confident running last night - could have carried on further which is always a good sign.

Bit of a speed session Friday then 12 mile LSR Sunday.

Compression socks are brilliant, legs feel great, no calf cramps.

One concern I have is that I'm very one paced, apart from my speed session I tend to run 10 minute miles and feel as though maybe that's a bit quick for my LSR but I struggle to run any slower... should I be worried?  I'm finishing OK and recovery is pretty quick so don't feel like I'm over doing things.

Sharky, that's scary stuff, sorry to hear about what happened and hopefully now you are fully recovered!?! Hope you enjoyed the football, good results all round, especially with new Starchan era up here! Was great just to win a game, even though it was only Estonia!

Dave B, I have decided to do Alloa now going to try and get under 1.40 (PB. 1.40.01)!!! so will keep in touch about that. Also, what do you do at Yorkhill? what a coincidence that you work there!

My foots still playing up though, which is not a good sign. Had sports massage so the rest of me feels fine apart from this continuing pain. I'm hoping I'm just being overly paranoid as the big day gets nearer though, going to do my LSR this weekend anyway, which I hope will be comfortable and have been busy tracking down and buying various magic ointments that I hope offer me some relief!

Time will tell, enjoy your long runs everyone - they're getting longer! (Except for Dave who's already banging out 21 miles )

Ha ha Miggito..i am heading out for a 31 mile run on Sunday @ 6min/mile pace  ( in my dreams...LOL). I work as a radiographer at Yorkhill..as my father-in-law says i only take black and white pictures!

Looking forward to Alloa. My half marathon PB is 1:39:43 (Great Scottish Run last year)...hoping to get a few minutes better in Alloa?!!

I spent this morning in Run 4 it in Glasgow getting new shoes as my 'new' pair i got for christmas (Asics Gel 1170) were causing problems with my left heel. I have gone for the Brooks Ghost-5 and they seem very comfortable walking about the house (it's my rest day today-so no running today)..can't wait to test them out.

Enjoy your weekend runs...i'm 10 miles saturday, and 15 miles sunday (12 @ marathon pace)