Sub 3

Is it really three years? I guess time flies when you're not reading hundreds of thread posts all the time.... ;o)

So how the hell are you all?

I figured that now that i am back in the marathon game (VLM entry in the post after yesterday's effort..... Champs Start too - yay!), I might as well dip back in here.

If you'll still have me, of course.

Congrats on the champs place NTS, good to see you've had a change of heart with the marathon distance.  I was thinking about you amongst other absentees recently, you do get name dropped on here occasionally.  Have you broken any treadmills lately?    You did give me some good advice when I first came on the thread which I haven't forgotten.  You will need to remind us which washing machine you've got though!   

Great stuff NtS, many congratulations and welcome back. My family remember you from Abingdon -- "How did he recognise you?"
"From my forum picture, but I didn't recognise him from his picture."
"Why not?"
"Because it's a picture of a twig." : -)

TR -- forgot to say, no races booked now until the Cambridge half on ?11Mar2013... but I'm sure I'll do something or other. There are some club XCs at least. But yes, I'm having a definite chill-out now training-wise. Good luck in the 10M race BTW.

NtS - good to have you back, well done at Gosport! I still look at the photos from the treadmill WR occasionally (the Mrs made a framed montage type-thing which is hanging in our study) - happy days!

NtS nice to see you again. I feel better about my own mini-absences. Very nice run at Gosport!

Great to see Coro again. As Joolska says it's like a reunion!

About to trundle off to my temp day job  in Knightsbridge (7 miles): via Finsbury, Regent's and Hyde Parks. Had an enforced cut-back last week but this one looks like a better mpw. It's the MtR / Coro issue of having so many other things to do. Am completing my second book at stupid-o-clock many days so there's a bit of candle burning. Love the running though and stil eyeing up a 2013 marafun.

NtS!! - All right fella!  Well done at Gosport.  See you on the Champs start then.  And in the Red Lion.  Treadmill warm-up before the race maybe? 

Coro - Was thinking of you yesterday whilst interweb-stalking my V40 duathlon competition... apparently celeb-chef-cum-rather-good-runner/duathlete Alan Murchison was one of the guys running round with you for the Olympic marathon test run.  (He won the V40 category at the Ballbuster and is also registered for my target-race duathlon in March, along with the guy who came 2nd V40.  I need to up my cycling game!)

Some very tasty HM racing done this weekend, well done all.  And look after those calves, calf botherers!  Was a lovely weekend for it - 45 miles on the bike Saturday (OK, not such a lovely day for it; still not donned the mudguards and got covered in Kent countryside/shit.)  Sunday was better though - felt good after a relatively easy post-race week and dragged the long run out to 21 miles.  Actually looking forward to bashing out the miles for VLM training now.

NtS - you looked very easy during Sunday's run.  Bit like Padams, you don't look like you're putting any effort in, but still seem to run quick times. What's the secret?

I got injured trying to chase you round that awful half marathon around Dorney Lake back in Feb, and missed much of the next 6 months! Well done on getting the champs start btw.

Anyone here going to the Running Show http://runningshow.co.uk/ this weekend?  Free entry if you pre-register online.  I'm there in a professional capacity. Will help relieve you of your pre-Xmas cash if you like

Woke up this morning with an awful pain in the neck; have very restricted range of movement and so, in the absence of physio/sports massage availability at the practice I usually go to this evening, am opting for chiropractor.  Never been to a chiropractor so not sure what to expect but just hoping it does the job...

Oh Jools - doesn't sound good but hopefully some magic hands will do the trick. Did you have any symptoms before?

Shoulder/neck had been a bit stiff but actually fine when running - this morning not so fine walking!  Fingers crossed by 8pm all will be well...

NtS - bit of a lighweights way of getting into VLM ! I hope that you have toughened your stomach up in the last few years ! You still hold the record as having run the fastest over 26.2 wearing a TR number.

CW - March 11th, excellent, even you cant hurt yourself doing XC. All you have to do now is give me two months of 8 to 10M on weekdays and a 2 hr run on Sunday til Feb, then you can go back to your old ways with plenty of base and toughened up ready to bag a 2:3X.

PP - you'll be doing well to out run (and bike) that chef. he mixes it with some of Marigolds team mates in training. Checking out rivals and entry lists always makse me smile, I just have to turn up, pin on a number and run, racing rivals and for positions is a different league to mine.

Jools- you havnt done Go Ape have you ? part of last weekend being so busy was a b'day trip to Go Ape (with me as one of the responsible adults), I hit the ground hard ! and think I copped whiplash, bit of neck ache this week in the lido as a result.

60mins of big gear on the turbo and 400s in the lido for me today.

Jools - osteopath albeit slightly different to chiro has always done the job for me.

TR - solid swimming/biking combo

Evening on the sofa tonight, club run is hard intervals and my legs still feel mashed, plus its dark and windy outside and I'm knackered after a day at Uni. I've gone soft today but I think I've earned it after sat/sun. Back to it tomorrow.

Awww shucks - thanks for all the welcome backs. Rather strange - all this niceness on here (someone even compared me to Padams....like, WOW). It's like a (second) honeymoon period.. won't last.....;o)

Jools - don't panic. In my limited experience, mostly involving picking up errant  and increasingly heavy children, necks are the worst thing in the world for waking up the next morning feeling like you can't move without a world of pain, but then easing up reletaively quickly. Does tend to result in comedy whole-body turns whenever someone tries to get your attention though....

TR - stomach has been good of late, though obviously hasn't been properly marafun-(do we still say that? and Tergat? and all that silly stuff?)-tested for a while.... we'll see. How's trick with you? Kids still threatening to play for England? Spinners at all?

Max Headroom - awww a montage - I love it. Great times. You never know, if I can hold this impriovementy curve I might even get to a stage where I (we) could give it another shot.....at least the computers would be newer.....

PP - hello mate, how's life? Running well? Red Lion deffo, but may give the 4am treadmill warm-up a miss this time.....I still remember lying on my back on the grass at the good for age start totally exhuasted and thinking fcuk me we haven't even started yet.....

Wardi - me? good advice? are you sure? Was I drunk?   

Star-gazer/lead-off man - great to hear from you. Semi-retirement? What's that mean exactly then? Not injury I hope? Hopefully a time thing. I know the feeling - been juggling work and family for the last few years; mental break and come back hard seems to be the ticket.

DanA - 5.50? You mellowing in your old age or what? Would have been 5.20 back in the day........Sorry to hear about the post-Dorn injury. All cleared up now I take it?

Not a stick. Definitely not a twig(gy) - though some have identified me from that pic. But a 3-year boomerang.

"impriovementy" ???

Forgot to say..... I learned some Italian during my time off.....

NtS - still chugging away here mixing VLM with some 1/2 IMs. The VLM sequence is now (2008 - 2012) 2:52, 2:55, 2:55, 2:53, 2:51 - so consistently consistent as usual, and DanA still hasnt beat me ! Nippers are going well thanks, both scoring a few goals and hitting boundaries or the batsman's wickets. How is your family ?

NTS.. thinking back it was probably drinking advice..

TR.. good lung burning stuff there!

Nice long run & bike ride PP!  You are clearly competing with Padams in the weekend calorie burning competition! 

Stiff neck exercise.. lie face down as flat as possible, arms by side.  Turn the head slowly sideways the way it doesn't want to go and hold the side of your head flat against the floor for 15-20 secs.  Repeat 4-6 times.  I once pushed my neck past the end stop during sleep and this routine definitely improved mobility. 

4.3m on the treadie early doors & 7.2m with the club tonight.  T-shirt & shorts & no gloves!

Bring out the dead...nice to hear of NtS, and I fully understand about the mental drive/family balance sort of thing. Whilst not in the same league of honourable gentlemen and lesser spotteds, I have actually dipped my hand and entered a local fun run of 26.2 miles. The target's to run the whole way this time....

Do you 'spose I ought to do some training?

Dear friends - I appear to have discovered a new way of life, a new obsession if you will.

Strava, a new fangled web site where you upload your runs (from yer Garmin or iPhone), shows how you've done over certain road segments versus other people. I am the proud owner of several course records around these parts.

However, some bastard thief called Biggs, has robbed the course record at the end of my street off me. This follows on from one of his mates (called Kevin for gawds sake) having taken it off me last month, which I was able to get back. Now, I don't care too much about most course records, but this one is different. It's my back yard, my manor, and it rightfully belongs to me.

Anyway, I've stalked this Biggs bloke and his mates,and compiled a list of the course records they hold. Like Charles Bronson in Death Wish, I shall now attempt to take each and every one off them. Strava send you an email when someone takes a record off you, and frankly I want this bloke, and his cronies, crying over their laptops as a barrage of mails deflates their egos, bit by bit.

That's not unreasonable is it? It's a dog eat dog world out there, and I'm a feckin foaming rottweiler, and this Biggs looks like a little sausage dog to me.

Dids - folks I know record bike times too on sections, sometimes they "forget" and have the app on in the car !  You need Norris McSquirter to be there to make sure they are running too. 

NtS - the record is actually pretty tough now (unlike the one we beat), so would be tricky to beat again, although probably doable with the right people. I remember looking at you in the taxi on the way to Greenwich and thinking there's no way he's going to be able to run a marathon, then you suddenly perked up once we got going! Hope the family are well, sounds like they're keeping you busy.

PP - Mr Murchison was in Nancy for the Worlds, staying in the team hotel where we were. The breakfast there was pretty rubbish and we were sitting near him one morning - I was very tempted to make a comment about the food being similar to his restaurant, but decided against it. He is pretty quick though - on TV I saw something about him being "a runner" and assumed that meant he'd done a 5 hour marathon or similar. Googled him and found some of his PBs are quicker than mine!

LD - I knew about Strava for cycling but didn't realise people were using it for running too. As TR says, I suspect there are some cheats taking part. You need to hunt this guy down and challenge him to a race.

12M last night, fairly slow. Knee has been feeling a bit sore for the last week or so, but seems a bit better this morning. I had the same thing last year - rested it loads and it didn't get better, then got bored of resting, ran a marathon, and it was fine after that!