'Mature' runners.

Red, thanks. I have been doing some fast walking, with hardly a twinge, so I am now feeling more confident.

TOTP again!

Did some heavy cross training in the garden barrowing compost around and spreading it on the garden.

Redhead
Won't be racing again this year. I need a lot of training first. Ceal Morrison has moved to E.Grinstead and is running the Xmas Pud Dash.She's 70+ and I bet she's in the top 6 women.
JJ

JJ, gardening is excellent cross training, but care is needed not to strain ones back.

I have been doing stretching and core work whilst not running, and intend to make it a regular habit. I have a 1.5 mile walk (possible jog) there and back to Sundays race where I am marshalling, so that should give me a good idea as to whether I should start running again on Monday. The calf no longer feels painful to the touch, so that is a good sign.

Afternoon all,

It's wet!  I've been wet, dry, wet, dry, wet, dry so far today with plenty more hours to repeat the sequence   My bones don't like this wet and cold weather that's for sure!

JJ, EGrinstead's quite a way from Ashburnham isn't it?  Ceal must be about 72/3 now isn't she?  I still don't think I can be bothered with it this year as I don't feel that I need another medal for a 5 miler and I don't feel like dressing up - OMG, what's the matter with me, I always like dressing up?!

TE, glad to hear your calf is feeling better.  Enjoy your marshalling duties.

Mcs, did you actually enter the 26.2 thing for next year?

JJ - I won't bet against you, Ceal is an absolute star.

Red, it hasn't rained at all here, although it must have belted down during the night, as the ground was soaking this morning. I hope I enjoy my marshalling duties, but am feeling a bit apprehensive. The forecast tomorrow is bright and sunny, with a frosty start. I will ensure that I am wrapped up well, with a woolly hat and gloves.

Minus 2 here in the NF, but bright and sunny.

I really enjoyed my first experience of marshalling. The conditions were ideal, weather wise, and underfoot was thick squelchy mud, which is as a good cross country race should be. It was also the first testing of my calf since last Sunday, as I walked/jogged 1.5 miles to the venue, and jogged approximately 2 miles of the course to my position.

hello everyone, this is first time on this thread, been running for a good few years but its taken a back seat last few years due to long hours at work, i'm only doing around 4 -5 miles a few times a week, i had a place in London marathon 2 years ago but got injured and deferred to last year and got injured again, now i have a place via a charity close to but as you could imagine i am nervous about upping the training, any help would be appreciated,

Afternoon all,

What a glorious day here!  It was frosty first thing but I ran in my vest and shorts this afternoon it was so warm 

Hi Sarnie and welcome to the thread!  Sorry to hear you've had injury problems but I'm sure you'll get to VLM in 2013 if you are careful with your training.  Have you chosen a plan to follow yet?  What sort of time are you hoping for?  What's your time for a 1/2?  So exactly how many runs are you doing each week?  What's your current weekly mileage?  Questions, questions, sorry, it's just that it helps to know your background when proffering advice.

TE, glad you enjoyed being a marshall.  I hope lots of runners thanked you as they sped past.

JJ, I've got a whole load of compost to shift still if you'd like to pop round and help 

Spent yesterday with 5 week old grandaughter. She's a real stunner and even slept on my lap all through the rugby on TV. How considerate is that?

Ran 4.2 of the muddiest miles I've done in a very long time. Slow but very hard work.
Had to hose down the tracksters below the knee. Threw away the objectionable socks. Hosed my trail shoes inside and outside. Disgusting really

Redhead
Moving 10 barrowloads a day is a brilliant form of cross training.

sarnie
Welcome. I had a similar injury experience training for VLM in 2011. My training was on schedule for a sub-4 run to celebrate reaching 70 but I pulled a hamstring 3 weeks before the race and couldn't run.
 If you've been keeping fairly fit with 2 or 3 runs a week you will be fine to
start a marathon program. Plan to do 300-400 miles of steady runs to build a solid aerobic base then follow a 16 week training plan to get you the time you want to aim for. I'm not a fan of too many very long runs. The emphasis should be on quality training, particularly tempo runs. Incorporate a couple of 1/2m races as part of the training.
Give us a clue about the sort of time you would be looking for.
JJ

Welcome to the thread sarnie and good luck with your training. Injuries are inevitable, especially as we age, and this year I have suffered a hamstring and then calf pull.

Red, thanks, it felt good to be putting something back into the sport I love. I was pleased to get lots of "thank you marshall," which made it all seem worthwhile. I especially encouraged the tail enders, some of whom were walking, and it was great seeing their appreciation and breaking into a jog. The "sweeper" was a 70 year old lady club runner, who ensured that nobody was left behind.

JJ, good that you are getting back into your running again. I'm sure, after Christmas, you will be back in serious training again?

evening people

thanks for your warm welcome, 

redhead with answer to your questions, i have no schedule to follow as yet, my time for half was around 2.15, my weekly mileage is only around 20miles a week but now i have a reason to train and will be upping distance, at the moment 4 miles is a very easy run for me,

Is it best to run 4-5 miles every other day or do 3 miles every day and build the distance from that,

Johnny J

firstly may i say that you are amazing with the fitness level that you maintain, i have 2 half marathons after xmas, silverstone and reading in march and would love to get under 2.10, as for 300 -400 miles of just steady running i never thought of that, good idea

TE
I hope to be back in reasonable training before the year end but I'm not worried if it takes a bit longer.

sarnie
I'm not at all fit at the moment and a great deal overweight. I've had most of this year doing very, very little and now I'm 70+ it's difficult to find a training pattern that works because there's very little info around on maximising training at that age. The only certainty is that if I try to do a hard run it takes days to get over it.

Go for  4-5 milers  and build on that rather than 3 miles a day.You need recovery time. It works like this. You run, you cause micro damage to muscle fibres. Your body thinks that what caused the damage is going to become the norm so it repairs the damaged  fibres a little bit stronger when you rest. Note that it's when you rest you get stronger!
Half marathons are quite difficult to train for. It's a speed/endurance combination that's needed whereas 10k is speed and a marathon is endurance.

If you are interested mail me with the number of days you are likely to train and I'll give you some guidance on runs that will give you a good chance of getting under 2:10.
JJ

JJ

thanks so much, i will e-mail you

A dark, miserable morning, quite a contrast to yesterdays bright and sunny. My car has just been collected to have its MoT. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there won't be any expensive jobs that need doing.

Had a nice sunrise watching run yesterday 7.5 miles in just over an hour through the tunnels on the Monsal Head. Rabbits, heron and ducks amongst other spots and no humans, it was early!!  Drissly here. WELCOME sarnie I am new on here too. Still wanting to go sub four hours for a marathon, though I have a 1.42 half this year so getting there slowly. I have done over 1200 miles so far this year in training and had a relatively injury free year.......its about going steady and slowly building things up. Anything over about 40 miles and I start to have niggles especially in my back. Take it steady but do start now to get going. There are some good schedules out there but dont be afraid to adjust for you what is your breakdown threashold.  Some of the long runs toward the end of the marathon training can be reduced if you are injury prone. Sam Murphy and Liz Yelling both told me that over the last couple of years while chatting on other forums on RW. They should know. Its certainly helped me to get nearer to my targets without getting injured. All the best.

mcs

thanks hun for the advice, it certainly seems good advice, am recovering from a chest infection but after talking to you guys i am looking forward to the training, i have forgotten how much being on RW forum is good motivation, 

Terence 

good luck with the MOT, it's not good having it done so close to xmas, fingers crossed for you

Afternoon all,

No run day.  Been filming an interview for ARUK's annual review and feeling drained now.  Need cake!

Sarnie, JJ's a good Coach   I have a base of 30 miles a week and rarely go below that, then I build in more long runs as I get near to a marathon.  Please make sure your chest is better before you run again.  Good luck.

TE, I'm glad that runners thanked you.  being a back-of-packer I always thank them as they have to stand around for such a long time waiting for the likes of me!

Cake sounds good Redhead you deserve it enjoy!!! Just going to indulge in a snickers bar. Got a cold sore so reckon I need building up!!! Thats my excuse anyway and yes I did apply for Asics 26.2........wont be waiting expectantly for an email from RW Towers..........reckon over a certain age they dont want......the younger whipper snappers are better for the pictures and videos in the mag I would guess.