RW Forum Six – Sub 2.50 Kier with Parkrunfan

Sorry to hear about the cancellation PRF, YD, Minni, Brian and anyone else who was planning on running the BM. Always fustrating. Shame they haven't rearranged. Do they offer a refund or just a transfer to next years race?

Probably neither, but we will see.

Just back from first 20-miler. No chance of any MP miles in my run. It took ages. So much ice everywhere. Ran into town along a country lane and ended up skating down several hills. Took me ages to run the 4 miles in. Got there just in time to head out for  12 miles with some club members along the off road cycle track. Was still lethal in places but manageable. Then 4 miles home where I just rang along the main road and stuck fingers up at passing motorists gesturing to me to get onto the pavements.

So 20 miles done in 2:56 thats about 8:50s I think which is fine. Time on feet fine for me today as full of cold anyway. Makes 82 for the week I think. Will attempt 10 miles first thing tom but just use the main roads I know are OK. I hate this white stuff, really do!

Good stuff MM. I ran similar. Yaktrax's fitted and left the house into the falling snow after only a pint of water for breakfast (secretly cursing PRF!). I removed the yaktrax after 1 1/2 miles when I realised the snow was so soft and fresh, despite being icy underneith, trail shoes were fine, so the yaktrax has a nice 18.5m carry in my hand! I decided that pace wasn't going to happen, I might as well go exploring and went along some new trails along the North Downs way and managed to follow my sense of direction to get back onto familiar lanes later on. Felt quite like narnia out there running through pine forests, although the only animal of note was a hare (I had forgetten how large they can be). Felt a bit hungary around the 11 - 12m mark, but that could be due to a sudden stomach emptying at mile 9 (more gingerbread house than gingerbreadman!) I had to take it really slowly along some very rutted and frozen trails where the snow covered the uneven surface for fear of twisting an ankle. 2.50m/m consistently for the first 2 hours, but somehow this dropped to 2.42m/m ave by the time I got home. Originally had 18.7 on the garmin, so ran up and down a bit to make it 20 especially to please YD. 

Legs tired, as normal after 20m, but no adverse effects from the unfuelled thing. Perhaps there is something in it? 

63m for the week.

Mine was unfuelled too. Huge dinner last night though of pasta, garlic bread, salad, red wine and a magnum!! Just a cup of tea this morning though until 13 miles when I decided a gel would be good as I felt a bit low. I do this every week though as so nice now kids are bigger they are sleep in. All awake at 8am today, so only had 10 mins for quick cuppa before I had to head out to meet the others. Just had massive bowl of cereal and beans on toast and about to cook beef stew for dinner .

Some more core work this afternoon as got to help clear the paths and car park at school in the hope that they will be in tom!

2.50 miling Keir!!!? 8.50s or 7.50s?

parkrunfan wrote (see)

No Brass Monkey tomorrow and no rearrangement either, just a straight cancellation. If nothing else it at least saves YD from taking another beating

Fighting talk, lets see how cocky you are after the Dewsbury 10k in a couple of weeks….

Excellent work on the 20 miler MM, nice weekly mileage total as well.

You couldn’t resist rounding up could you Keir? I did a lap round a football pitch to round my run up to 20 today! Not that we are OCD or anything.
All good miles today, not sure I want to be hearing about your toilet habits though!
Have you got one more week before the magic/big/hard/hideous/special 8?

After finding out that BM was cancelled I went out for an extra run last night and that was a struggle. So unsurprisingly the 20miles in the hills this morning  was hard work. Not an easy route to be fair and running in the snow takes a bit more out of you (in my experience), so all good toughening up miles in the end.

A lovely route though, I will use it again. At one point a random dog came bounding out after us and just followed us. We couldn’t get it to go back home, so in the end the dog dig 9 miles and got a ride home in the back of my mates car  The owner was chuffed, as we saved him the bother of having to walk the dog in the snow!

Me trying to control our new companion!

Only a light dusting of snow up north, so no need for yaktrax or even trail shoes, as suguested by Keir my long run today consisted of 8 miles easy, with 4 at perceived HMP, WOW! what a tough workout, I'm slowly recovering watching the footie on the telly.

Stats for run

 the HMP pace was actually quicker than I thought it should be, and I'm not sure I could maintain that pace for 13.1.  I'm happy i've tried this type of run it does give me some confidence that my training is progressing along nicely, but not quite sure what I should concentrate on over the next 8 weeks.

I was thinking of you and your husband on my run MM. How on the earth do you fit so much in? How old are your kids. On the one hand, a young family is a lot of work (mine are 6, 4 and 11mths) but as they get older they need trips out and sports / activity clubs. How many hours do you both fit in training per week at the moment and do you have a live in baby-sitter?

Well done on doing the HMP work SC. I was a cold day which always make pacey work hard and looking round the threads a lot of people abandoned their MP work in their LSR today. Come race day, when warmer, have other competitors and are in racing gear I am sure you should be able to hold that pace for mch longer. How did the HR compare to your usual HM HR?

YD, we have plenty of dogs down our way but they usually take a bit more persuasion to come home on a Saturday evening. Looks like you have something which smells very appealing to that dog in the picture. Have you been stuffing sauages down your tights for padding?

Yes, it was a Wall's

A lot of understanding Keir between us, both been running at a high-ish level since we were teenagers, met at uni in the cross country club, so we totally get it. Hubbie cycles about 100-125 miles per week but he cycles to and from work one way or both ways, he runs about 4 times per week 20-30 miles and swims once a week.

I run at 5.30-6am most mornings and then go out when he gets in. I run 50 miles a week when ticking over and 80+ when mara training. I also do core stuff for about 2 hours a week. If we both need to run one of us runs on the treadmill. He also travels a bit which scuppers me, but the main reason we bought the treadmill as well as this damn ice! We don't have a live in sitter. Ha!! I wish! I do some runs when wee girl at nursery and boys at school mainly on weds, but not had that luxury until now so was another early doors run and I do have to work the other days she is in nursery.

Boys have football on Sat am normally, so hubbie takes them there and takes wee lass too, so thats a good window for me!

Luckily after his mad challenge last week he has had a week off which has made this weekend easier! The kids totally understand too as they have grown up with one of us out doing something, watching races etc, so its just part of their lives too. They love going to watch races, good thing I guess!

Totally pooped now after yet more sledging with the kids. Somehow a bottle of red opened itself. Must be the stress of cooking dinner and eating it with the kids!

Some excellent long stuff being logged today:

Minni 17 Miles

Mitchie 20 Miles

YD 20 Miles with some added dog rustling

Keir 20 Miles on a glass of water (nice to be in your thoughts, Keir, even if it was part of a curse )

So, not a thread full of shirkers then, anyway!

I did my long run mid week with the 20 miles on Wednesday.........but thats no reason to miss out on the fun .

So today was 23.0 Miles in 3:18:21 (8:36/mile).

Again, it flowed well and felt strong enough at the end so very pleased.

And I've actually got round to blogging at last!

Normally I would be celebrating - school is shut tomorrow (fingers crossed that my son's school and other son's nursery is still open!). However having read that my mentor has run a 20 and a 23 within 5 days, I don't want to be a 'shirker'! 

Would 14m tomorrow be enough to keep me in your god books PRF? 

Keir wrote (see)

Normally I would be celebrating - school is shut tomorrow (fingers crossed that my son's school and other son's nursery is still open!). However having read that my mentor has run a 20 and a 23 within 5 days, I don't want to be a 'shirker'! 

Would 14m tomorrow be enough to keep me in your god books PRF? 

You're a god? I'll remember to bow or courtsey on the VLM start line then or whatever it is you do when meeting gods!

The only prescription is that you keep it all relaxed and dont break anything but certainly more miles wont do any harm as long as you're not building up niggles/creakiness.

The reason that I'm getting plenty long ones in is that I had a fairly prolonged period of relatively low mileage, say 40-50 mpw, so it feels like my priority should be to get a big aerobic boost going leading into the 8 weeks. But all the same I'd be cutting them short if they were too much of a struggle.

I actually went out to do 22 today but added one on at the end.....just because it feels good to tell a distance that it hasnt beaten you

Stewart - Many thanks!

Minni - It has been said before But then again it is completely tame compared to those 3 marathons in a week that Njord did a couple of weeks ago.

And guess what he did today after finding out that BM was cancelled? He only went and ran the course of the new Yorkshire Marathon and then added a few miles on to make it up to 30.

  Now there is a nutter!! I wonder if he'll come up here and recce some routes for me while I sip wine at home.