Sub 3h15

Happy Birthday OO.

Strength excercises with a dumbell and kettlebell this lunchtime in the local park for me.  Muscles jellified by the end.

Welcome akatrigs & Hillheader & welcome back FINgers & Windy.

AR - I do my intervals on a loop around my estate that has little traffic.  I run on the road for most of it but there is grass next to the pavement so I start on the grass and then when I get faster I go onto the road for more stability.  I try to start my intervals with 400m reps, then each week or so going through 800m, 1000m, 1200 & 1m. I try to keep the pace just below 6m/m for all apart from the last rep which I blast faster.  I found that not running them flat out helped recover for other weekly sessions. As Blisters said, you need to be consistent and don't blow up after the first one. 

Gul - "Relaxed" 5.14m/m.  Hope that was sarcasm!!!  Good session.

akatrigs - I'd recommend core training.  It certainly helped me last marathon campaign.  The stronger the core the less you lose form at the tired end of a race.  I used to use medicine balls and light free weights at the local gym.

Happy Birthday OO!!

Monster mileage Jools.  The base is coming along nicely.

I've just tried to cobble together a training plan that I can stick to with new work commitments.  Looks like I will be testing a 3hr-ish marathon off of an average 38mpw.  Should be fun!!!

SBD said 'Happy birthday OO - out of curiosity how can you be sure you were the first to the top of Skiddaw on 1 Jan?.

I can't be certain but the first person I saw was half way down on my ascent. I did the first half hour in complete darkness. I doubt anybody would attempt the summit in darkness, least of all on New Years Day.

Thanks for the messages, 8 mile walk with the family after my 8 mile run this morning. Some drinks and a nice meal should round the day off. 

Happy Birthday (5)OO! Yes, a nice way to celebrate it.

Great miles being bagged, esp by Jools and SBD.

Thanks Badbark for the link to those hill reps - I can't wait to get out there and try them - I have just the place. I liked the related Sisyphus session, too.

I do intervals/reps here:

 It's a walkway laid out to cover railway tracks. One loop is 1.1 km, and I generally do reps of 800m - 2km there. Otherwise I go to a quiet (and totally flat) area of town early in the morning and do 2-3 milers. As others have said, consistency is the key, and I find it helps with form and running economy. In short, your normal running just gets faster. All this, in the middle of a marathon training campaign.

I can't stand the treadie because I get so bleedin' hot, really quickly. Also, I'm not sure if  I replicate my real running gait on there; instead, I think I do this kind of skating motion. Still, I would love to have one at Casa Ant.

What the extensive, state-of the-art facilities available at Casa Ant will soon include is a spinning bike. As soon as the delivery men get here with it, in fact. It is my present to Mrs Ant for the Three Kings (6th Jan). I will report back on this, but I was quite favourably impressed by it when I tried it out. Good and solid-feeling. It won't be the greatest, at 259€, but I'm hoping some decent training can be teased from it. The only thing, where to hide the ****er until Sunday!!

FINgers - There's no such thing as a bad run. You'll look back on this in a few weeks and shrug dismissively. Fwiw, I always perform terribly if I'm overdressed, and never-underestimate the power of man-flu to undermine your efforts.

Forgot to say earlier - welcome aboard Akatrigs and Hillheader. Plenty of sound advice to be had here. And some rubbish - from me, mainly.

The spinning bike turned up, and after debating where to put it, I finally found a cunning hiding-place for it till Sunday. Do you think she'll notice it?

Welcome to the new fellas - stick around and we'll try not to be too boring

I've never really found strength works nakes much difference to either my performance or injury proofing. Like TR says the main thing that improves injury likelihood is doing lots of easy miles. Could argue however that it must help like Martin says so maybe I should try it ! Part of the problem is finding the time

AR - I've tried dreadmill intervals quite a bit during icey weather. I found they don't work due to inaccuracy of the calibration of the machine, overheating, taking a while for the belt to speed up to target paces, flailing about pressing the buttons while goling flat out. MUCH easier on path, bike routes or - ideally - track. I find the track does make me focus and try harder

Is that a spinning bike behind that chair Ant or are you just pleased to see me ??

Sounds you're still post viral FINgers - ease up !

Happy Birthday to OO ! Party hard my friend

8 miles today (Moraghan special) including some 400s, some 200s and a couple of MP miles in the middle. Really nice to be training a bit and get all the nonsense out of the system

Nicely hidden Ant

Thanks again for all the info on intervals. I'm going to investigate a 'posh' running track which is only a few miles from here, and may also try out one dreadmill session - I imagine it will go exactly as FW described.

10m done today, a little too quick, and then this evening did my rowing interval session of 4 x 2K

Mennanias - have you had the VO2 session yet - interested to see how it comes out

Happy Birthday OO

Welcome to HillHeader and akatrigs

I was on the track tonight at club.... but doing my own session to plan (15 mins warm up (1.94m) 4 x 5 mins at threshold -  .80m, .80m, .80m, .80m off 90 sec rec and 15 min warm down (1.89m) total 7.7m in 56 mins)

Happy with the consistancy

Take care all

Welcome to the new folks.
Minni - no you're not . . . . .
A thought based on experience if I may - between 1988 & 2000 I lumbered round 16 maras between 2:46 & 2:59, and I never recorded one situp or plank , and I was never injured. Never in the last miles did I think "blimey,I wish my core was stronger", but I did learn to "trust the training" - i.e. the miles in my legs. Didn't worry about losing form, as my form is c**p anyway !  My recent injuries (2008 & 2012) - both small knee ligament tears, probably just thru' wear & tear.  Yes, core may be a "nice to do",and have some value,  but "important"?  Not for me. 
I agree with the specificity angle to training (BikeIt) - always like to do the majority of miles on the road for road marathons (as all mine have been) - again, no injuries to speak of until the recent ones.  Saying that, I did do treadmill sessions from time to time - a favourite was 3-2-1 - this was a 2 mile jog to gym, then 3 miles at 6:20, 2 at 6:10, 1 at 6:00. Also did this at the track.  I liked the discipline of keeping the effort going on the treadie at the set pace, and I liked the track ambience - once there you seem to lock into the fact you're there to run quickly.
All this is personal preference of course - one man's meat etc. 
Finally - Happy Birthday OO - we expect great deeds in the new age sector  . . . .

OMG, will lot stop yattering on??? I can't keep up. Skim read only. Happy Birthday OO, nice present hiding Ant (she'll never notice), welcome new folks. 

Intervals - good. Weights - good. 

Bed - good. 

no would I?

Almost too late, but set of Happy Birthday wishes from the opposite end of the country to OO.

Ant - I reckon you're pretty safe with that hiding place. If necessary, just distract her. Alternatively, you could drape your running gear over it after you've come back from a run. That normally acts a a deterrent for anyone going near a particular part of a room in my experience.