RW Forum Six - Sub 3:30

But I am a wuss Minni! I don't see the point of making running more difficult than it already is by doing ridiculously hilly/off-road etc races - where's the fun in that? lol Give me a fast, flat PB-friendly road race every time.

I've never thought of taking a packed lunch on a half-marathon  It does go to show though how we forget how far 13.1 miles sounds to your average non-runner.

I sometimes take a thermos on 10km races.....

Zuvai - hello stranger!

Sounds nasty O4S, hope you're not too sore today.

Welcome back Mr Z. Got any races booked?

Redders you sound very realistic but positive about the road ahead. Is your current thinking that you'll definitely do MK or are you going to play it by ear a bit more? We should start a "too many pints, not enough miles" comeback sub-thread.

Re. doubles, I've read that (until mileage reaches a certain point) they are more useful when training for shorter distances than marathons as it's a way to get the miles in without "wasting" time training your body to adapt to longer distances. Whereas for marathon training getting the miles in in longer chunks wherever possible is more useful for stimulating the adaptations need to build towards the ultimate aim.

O4S - Hope the knee is on the mend.

Well tonight pretty much put paid to any aspirations at Brighton next week.

Took everyones advice and didn't run on Tuesday or yesterday, so did the normal club 5.2 miler around the streets of Lingfield tonight. Fairly flat, two lap ruote with only a slight hill to negotiate, so nothing too strenuous. 

Did a 10-15 min w/up and set off sensibly @ 8.00 m/mi for the first mile. The plan after this was to run the middle 3 miles @ 7.00 m/mi and then cruise the last 1.2. Garmin beeped the first mile and felt good, running easily. Set off and quickly caught up with a couple of quicker guys, but still not busting a gut as we reached the incline (too small to be called a hill). Got to just before the top before the all too familiar "POP"!  

This despite resting the calf, Deep Heat, 2XU calf guards and a proper w/up!!!

I obviously need to contract this forum's cold & flu to lay me up for at least a month.... Or possibly try the "sandwich & thermos" training plan???

2Old, I totally agree with kfc too. I love getting out on the bike - doesn't even really seem like you're training if you pick a nice route. And stopping halfway through a turbo trainer session for a pot of tea and a scone or flapjack just wouldn't be the same  I'm not sure what it's like around where you live but surely if you plot your routes carefully you can avoid busy or dangerous roads?

2old/Freemers  - Yeah reduced mileage next week, then not a lot week leading up to Florence,

O4S -  Hope its nothing too serious,whether you run or not enjoy your weekend away.

DD -  Nice quick mile reps, with a few converting to the dark side maybe you ditch the swimming/cycling and concentrate on the running.

Mr Z -  welcome back, how was Clarendon?

Weeble -  good news re doubles, I've got a 10k  a week on Sunday so hopefully i'll have a flyer.

That's my first week of nights done and 10 runs in 5 days, did n't fiind it too bad but when the serious marathon training kicks in I will have to add some mileage in to a couple of runs and maybe drive to work a couple of times. Fortunately it's on a 3 week rotation with earlies and lates.

Hey Mr Z - we've missed you on here...I was beginning to think that Cheerful Dave may have worn you to the ground with his training regime...come on, you can tell me if he's being mean

Oompa - nightmare for you with the calf.  I had a popping calf a few years back - extremely painful. Never found out whether it was a tear, but it "went" several times - eventually I worked out that it was going whenever I tried to accelerate in my speed work, so if I kept the speed way down I could run - so never did anything faster than about 8.30s for months. I still had a nagging fear that it would go, but it never did after that. It might be an idea for you to just keep it dead slow for a while?

Daren - good to see you doing Yasso 800s...they work out at a 2.50 marathon

Gazelle - repeat after me "trails are bad, road is good, trails are bad, road is good..."

I ended up being sensible and not running yesterday. I'm feeling a lot better today so will get out there later. Gearing up for the Stowmarket 7 on Sunday - just going to blast it I think.

KFC - Exploding calves make an awful mess of the road, took some cleaning up i can tell you!

Simon & DD - It makes a slight pop, followed by getting really hot and then feels like there's a small hard lump under the skin??? The most annoying thing is that isn't a major injury... Just bloody annoying!!!!

Oh well, back in the pool.

x-post - Oompa, yes, that's exactly how mine felt.  Seriously, take a week or two off then try running slow...it will be very frustrating, but did the trick for me. I got through FLM 2009 on a schedule of 8.30's, as my calf had gone in the January that year, ran it in 3.47 which is not far off that pace!

ouch, Oompa. How frustrating. Hope you can sort it out somehow. Calf pain sucks.

Mr Z: great to have you back with us. What are you up to next?

Gazelle: I'm with you 100%. Trail is something we can do when we can no longer improve our road racing. Yeah, it may make us stronger but it's damn painful and there's a massive injury risk going offroad. As you everyone can see, I'm a wuss too

Fit-Running-Cat wrote (see)

My bug was just a 24-30 hour thing, very frustrating, Mrs FRC had something on Thursday/ Friday and got it quickly off her. I hate taking lemsip etc due to the affect on heart rate. Any recommendations on preventative things to take, more than just vitamin C/D and healthy diet?

Glad you are feeling better, FRC. I swear by First Defence & Echinacea. Whenever I'm exposed to sneezing sniffling people I use the First Defence. I also use it at the first sign of a sore throat or if I feel particularly run down. The only annoying thig abou the echinacea is that it aggravates my asthma so I have to use the inhaler more. But it's a small price to pay and deffo beats a full blown cold any day.

Minni wrote (see)

Said 'new chap' has been running with us for about 3 months.  He's in his mid 50's and new to running.  He did his first HM a couple of weeks ago and ran 1:45. His wife was quite upset when he didn't eat his tuna sandwiches she'd lovingly made and put in his bumbag for half way! 

PML Minni. That's absolutely hilarious. Tuna sarnies in a half. Classic.

Free - You're absolutely right, but i've now rested between 10-14 days at least 5 times so i'm beginning to wonder whether there is a running god who i've obviously upset at some point????

Dunno the answer to that Oompa...just hope you find an answer. Have you tried compressions socks?

Morning all, encouraging HM pace run this morning. 2 miles w-up then 5 @ 6:28 (remarkably they were all exactly 6:28 except for the first which was 6:29!). Average heart rate was 180bpm, which leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. Had it been 178-179bpm I would have definitely settled on that pace for Norwich but probably low 1:30s would be more realistic (my geeky stats suggest that 1bpm is worth about 3 secs per mile for me at HM pace). Plus this was on a totally flat course whereas Norwich has a few mild undulations... hmmm...decisions, decisions. Going by feel it was ok, fairly tough but I was able to keep the pace up ok on tired legs (I've done some hard sessions this week and a total of 36 miles - that's a lot for me, my most since I stopped Hadding in May! lol) and my breathing was ok too (I have a very structured breathing pattern plan for HMs that I won't bore you with now!) so I'm tempted, especially as that pace would give me a shot at 1:25!

Oompa, hope the calf sorts itself out.

Daren, leave the GPS at home for Norwich and run it on feel, you might surprise yourself.