VLM 2013 Outsiders Thread

Hi Guys, it looks like people are putting in some good long runs at the moment, which is great to see

I combined my LSR yesterday with my local Park Run again. 12 miles there @ 7:45 pace then Park Run (20:45) then 3 mile recovery jog, so just under 18 1/2 miles in total. felt great to get that all done by 10 am.

The only issue was when I took off my trainers when I got home and found 1 x small blister on my right foot (I am lucky enough to have never suffered blisters!) which was most probably due to soaking wet feet!!! but more worrying was the pain on the top of my left foot, which makes me hobble around a bit

Resting it today, but hoping to put in 10 miles on Monday... any opinions on what it could be????

Miggito - The Flumps as my Avatar... I really should change it, I put it on originally when I was out with a torn cruciate ligament and felt all 'Flumpy' and miserable. I remember an episode of the flumps when I was a kid where a cloud followed the little flump around because he was in a bad mood... well that was how I felt!!!

Hope everyone's training goes well this week

Back on it now after a week away with very little in the way of running done, mainly eating, but still no alcohol so at leat some progress.

Thursday 8.7M 1:00:01 which is 6:59 min/mi

Friday 7.5M @ 8 min/mi

Saturday parkrun jog with my sister 25:34

Sunday 15M race 1:40:18 which is 6:41 min/mi just below VLM target 6:51 min/mi

Today 4.6M recovery

I haven't had time to read all the posts whilst I was away so I will keep on top of it from now on. I hope everyones training is still going well.

Matt76 - make sure your laces are not too tight when you start off because you would not believe how much your feet swell during a long run. I have had this problem before and it normally goes away within a few days. I use elastic laces now and swear by them. To start with it feels like your trainers will fall off but once you have got used to this feeling it is fine. I hope it is this anyway because it is an easy solution for you and you will be back running quickly.

That's some impressive mileage Roger especially given the pace, if I were trying to put that in my legs would be in pieces!!!

I think you have hit it right on the button with the laces thing, I have recently changed to elastic laces and most probably had them pulled too tightly, it's not so bad today, so will hopefully try and get out for a few miles this evening all being well.  Cheers

btw. was it the Folksworth 15 Race yesterday?  a few of the guys and gals from my club went and said it was pretty tough due to the weather and the wind

Thanks for clearing that up Matt! Guess we've all been there at some point! Hope your foot gets better...

Roger, well done again for managing to stay off the booze, I'm going to go dry 4 weeks before, got some big days out lined up before then  . Pretty fast times as well, I'm a good bit off that but my ultimate aim is to get under 330 for the Marathon, maybe this year, maybe next year but someday! I did 15 miles at the weekend, I was fine up to 13 miles and then fell away at the last two but plenty time to get that sorted before April.....

Anyway, did about 16 miles on the bike this morning, legs felt fine so all going reasonably well. Got some intervals tomorrow morning to look forward to , Champions League week though so happy days!

As I'm on compressed timescales to add miles, I pushed my LSR from 9.3 miles to 12.2 miles this weekend, pace down a little to 9.51. Had freezing cold bath on my legs for 3 minutes or so afterwards, as it's the first time my legs have felt really stiff after running since I started again in December. I ate a handful of jelly babies at half distance so I start getting used to taking on some sugar. I have less stiffness in my iffy hip this week despite the mileage increase, which is a relief. 4.6 miles recovery run yesterday at 9.15 pace, thorough stretch afterwards and not too stiff today, which is a rest day anyway, so all good so far.

How depressing is it when you're layed up with a virus and unable to run I've been out for over a week but managed to go for a 11 mile run on Sunday [1:43:32 - 9.23 per mile] and was under my targetted time and felt heavy legged at the end but was glad to be out and running again.  Legs are a bit sore/stiff today, tempted to buy a pair of compression leggings so might have to go overboard on Valentine's night with the wife and hopefully sweet talk her into letting me buy a pair

Good shout out for the Alloa Half Marathon and might register for that one.  Dave I'm southside aswell but not involved with a running club apart from the outdoor fitness sessions I do.  They run a running session on a Thursday at Bellahouston but that's the same night of my football training so don't get to that until April when my team start playing 2 games a week.

I'm also going to be raisinig funds for Yorkhill at the marathon as it's one of our corporate charities and I've raised funds for them over the last 2 years and they do a great job looking after the kids.

Roger a week away from running and you can total that up, great going

Rob373 I might have to go back to the cold baths again after my legs are stiff today as they do help but I think I'd have to pre-plan it and have the bath waiting for when I get back as I couldn't be bothered waiting for it to fill up yesterday and just jumped in the shower

Only 70 days to go and looking forward to it......

Have decided to vary my training a bit after starting to read "Run Less, Run  Faster" as recommended by a friend.. I'm not 100% convinced on all aspects of the philosophy, however, the 3 (running) plus 2 (crosstraining) certainly makes sense, giving the muscles used for running time to recover whilst still exercising.

So yesterday did my usual Monday run, although I was wearing my Garmin to record the run, I decided to ignore it and aim for 'Perceived Exertion' and aim for an average 7:15 pace for 7 miles, when I checked I had actually managed average 7:23 pace which wasn't too far out, on a hilly course as well

Tonight was Crosstraining so put the Static Bike out infront of the TV (Celtic v Juve) and put in 25k.  Not as enjoyable as running but nice to do something different.  Hopefully will help to increase my Cardio with less impact... 'hopefully'!!!

Paul, I have been trying the Ice Bath thing after my long runs for a while, but instead of running the bath I have my shower and then once done I turn it to the coldest setting and douse my legs a couple of times with that... bloomin shocking but seems to do trhe trick (saves water as well!!!)

Dave cheers for the heads up and have now entered the Alloa half marathon I've also entered the Tom Scott Memorial 10m road race on the 7th April at Strathclyde Country Park.

Matt not sure about the shock treatment of the cold shower but will give it a go at the weekend

Got the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon on Sunday morning which i'm actually quite looking forwards too but a bit nervous as have not managed to get out for even a quick interval session since my last LSR last Saturday!

The ice baths are truely horrific but do find that they help, that and the regular glucosamine and Cod Liver Oil that i've started taking have massively reduced the knee swelling that i usually get!

Matt 76 - Glad you foot has recovered and yes it was Folksworth 15. It was quite windy and very cold, the worst was after the second hill where the wind was a strong cross / head wind. I felt strong and had a pace in mind of 6:51 which is sub 3hr so was pleased.

I done a  4.5m recovery on Monday which felt like hard work and then woke Tuesday morning to a bad stomach and sick feeling. I eventually got out of bed this morning after nearly 30 hours sleep in 36 hours. The other 6 hours was spent in the bog and the good news is that I am now back to race weight!!!

Probably won't run again until Friday if I feel fully recovered because I have a 30k hilly race on Sunday and although I am not racing it as such, I have agreed to pace someone @ 8 min/mi so I don't want to disapoint someone else by not being able to finish.

Miggito, glad your training is still going well and no pressure for a time. I have tried adding some cycling and feel that it works for me.

Paul Gunn 64, I have some calf guards which I wear after a LSR and they seem to help me recover faster. I have tried to run in them but felt uncomfortable, mind you if I run in leggins I am slower.

Where has everyone gone? I hope everyones training is still going to plan.

Friday I done my last lab brick session comprising of 30 minutes bike at an average cadence of 93 followed buy a 5k on the treadmill in 19:04 which I was pleased with because it feels much faster on the treadmill and I never seem to settle properly and it always feels like harder work than it should be. Saturday I done Cambridge parkrun in 18:56 which felt comfortable and Sunday I done Stamford Valentine 30k where I paced someone to 2:29:45 which she was over the moon with.

Recovery run this morning and tonight is my club presentation which I have been looking forward to since he end of the 2012 season.

A quick 5k on Saturday even though it was meant to be a comfortable run but had a night out planned so had to go a wee bit quicker to get ready quickly.  Then it was meant to be a comfortable 8.4 mile on Sunday starting at 8:17-9:10 pm but ended up doing a pace of 7:45 and felt fine during and after it.  However, did feel a wee bit lightheaded about the half way point and realised I didn't have any gels with me just incase but survived.

Did plan a BritMilFit session tonight but a new arrival in the family put paid to that as my niece ended up going into labour 2 weeks early so the wife was away visiting and I stayed with my boy and played on the xbox 

Got 2 rest days and then a 3.1mile jog on Wed and then a fast 8.4mile run on Thursday just need to plan wether to run into work or wait until after work.  Then a 3.1m jog on Saturday and a 14mile Fast & Comfortable run on Sunday.

Looking forward to it all.  Hope to get a hold of the new Rego+ Fruitflow tomorrow to try it out.

Roger well done on your parkrun, I'm never up in time to do the one that's only about 2miles away from me, lazy sod at the weekend, and I bet you felt great helping your friend do the 30k run in a good time.  As I remember helping my said niece around with her first 10k and getting her around in a respectable 56 minutes and was over the moon myself that she was over the moon, if you know what I mean.

Anyway keep running 

Ran the Portsmouth Coastal half on Sunday in 1hr 49 which was a little slower than i'd hoped for but i'm still reasonably happy with the time as some of the course was very boggy and i thought i was going to lose my shoes on more than one occasion!

I started off running the 1st 6 miles at about 7:19 a mile pace which was too quick for me and i found the last 5 or 6 miles tough (the final 2 were hell).I'm still quite stiff today but will try and get out for a quick run tonight to loosen things up.

Overall i found the race really useful as its helped me realise just how tough the big day will be and has made me be more realistic of my expectations regarding a time....think i'll just be happy to get round and finish at the moment!

Paul, looks like your plans end up like mine '8:17-9:10 pm but ended up doing a pace of 7:45' but I think it is nice to run as you feel now and again too. Congratulations on your new arrival! Paula was well chuffed with her time at the 30k, she is training to do London in under 3:30 and is well on target already. It will be a great time for a mid 40's lady. Yes I was just as happy as she was to get the time she did because it was the hilliest race I have ever done (worse than Snowdon marathon). The hills were relentless but great training for a flat marathon

Sharky, it looks like you had a good run on Sunday and still early days regarding marathon pace and fitness so don't worry too much. With any luck they won't add any hills to the VLM route and it shouldn't be boggy either. 

Hi all,

Not been around for a while, been busy, holidays etc but thought I'd have a quick check in here. Looks like all appears to be going to plan for everyone. At the risk of sounding like a hypochondriac, I've got a bad chest cough now, which although is not impeding me in any way, is bloody annoying as I feel like I've been unwell for the last fortnight! To be fair, I was a bit better at the weekend but had an all day / night session on Saturday at the football as the mighty Falkirk beat the Pars  but I don't think that's helped me!

Anyway, prior to that, I did get my 17 mile LSR in, felt very proud of myself, pacing went better at 8.40 min miles and only had to stop a couple of times for a breather on the killer hills that I need to climb to get home. I've got a 10 mile tempo run tomorrow morning so will see how I feel as I might just run at LSR pace if I'm not feeling up to it, my LSR this weekend is only 13 miles so quite an easy finish to the week.

Matt, I'm actually following the FIRST 3 run per week training schedule and finding it a lot easier than the previous program I followed a couple of years ago and I do seem to be running better. I'm still not totally convinced if its the right thing for me but is going well so far and I'm avoiding all the silly niggles and injuries I had the last time from runnig 5 times a week. The only problem is I feel its too easy to  become lazy and miss a Xtraining session (on no account must you do any more than 3 runs in a week!) and I've been averaging one a week with my 3 runs. I guess I'll find out how much I'll need to change it for the next time after the Marathon!

Paul, let me know how you get on with the Rego + Fruitflow, I'm very interested in that, especially as I know Fruitflow is going to be the next big thing!!!

Had a good test of my training today, The Baldock 'Beast' Half Marathon, felt like it was up hill all the way (my Garmin will tell me differently!!!) but was hard work all the same.

Really pleased, managed to finish in 1:29:54 (Garmin time, still waiting for official results) the first time I have dipped below the magic 1:30 mark, was in fact a PB by over 6 minutes

Must mean the training miles I have been putting in have paid off, legs are more tired than I can remember them being for a long time, so I will now kick back for the rest of the afternoon and watch the Cup Final!!!

Thought this would be the best place to blow my own trumpet!!! so ....

Thanks Dave, I know how those out injured feel, I've had 2 years of knee injuries and remember very well feeling envious of people able to get on with training and events.

To be honest, from the start my plan was to aim for 7 min miles, which is 30 seconds per mile faster than my target marathon pace, but when I got to 10 miles I realised that a sub 1:30 may be on and pushed harder for the last 3 miles which brought me in with seconds to spare

Good luck with yours, where abouts are you running? Have you got a target in mind?

I'm doing Alloa half middle of march. Have not done the course before so don't know if it is hilly or not....but it is scotland so bound to be hills most of the way??

My only target is to beat my only other half time of 1hr 39 mins 45s ( i only started running October 2011). Mind you my target for London is to get under 3 hrs 10 mins so if i can get close to 1hr 30 then i would be happy.