sub 4 hour group,if anyone wants to get together

FRC- I hated it but I sometimes think its good to have a very bad run. Good for the mind. Ensured I kept to target (1.50) as my spring target is a 3.39.59 as gives me a big pb and a C seeding for Comrades. I do feel worse after a treadmill though so interesting comments you make

I did have ideas about trying to keep up with Wendy, but thats now a non starter Im so amazed by her performance today

Yes .. that Wendy .. I dont know.. awesome.

martin - a half on a treadmill - christmas crackers you are!! that takes some determination!!!

lovely black and white cat

Hello everyone. Been busy but vaguely following the thread.

Lovely Stanley

Wabo - good luck for VLM ballot.  We had our draw last night. 7 people for 4 places. I had to draw the last place. OMG.

Martin - nutter if you've really run that far on the treadmill

Haven't even thought about a sched for Brighton. Think this should be week 1...

Ran this am despite ankle. Much better and loved being out in the hoar frost. An hour. God will I ever run a whole marathon? Seems unbeleiveable.  Daft innit.

Hope everyone's shopping, cooking, wrapping etc going ok. i've made a start at least.

AH, if it's 16 weeks then the 24th December week beginning is Week 1. Unless I worked it out wrong. I have a RW plan on my wall with the dates for every week, ready to tick each run off as and when I do it. I'm nervous/excited/downright scared! At least my Brighton Marathon tee shirt is yummy, even though I may have to walk half of it!

In Christmas news, I bought some very pretty sticky tape for my presents with stars on in different colours that doesn't stick to the wrapping paper. Clever.

I have just signed up for a 10K on New Year's Day in Somerset in a fit of madness. We'll see. Wonder if I'll actually get to run it this time. Only six quid!

just a short pop on as I;m cream crackered and just off to bed. Very very very pleased with how it went today - a new PB and I have finally cracked the sub 3;30 - it's like a huge weight has lifted from my shoulders and I now feel I can just relax and enjoy whatever time I now get having achieved my goal. 3:29:52 and a frantic last 100m sprint for the line - collapsing over it as they shouted out my time. Legs starting to seize up after the long bus journey back from Milton Keynes.

If I hadnt got injured todays race would have been my 12th marathon in 2012 on 12/12/12. Have managed 6 in the end so that is still sort of symetrical!

Will read back tomorrow - off to the land of nod. zzzzzzz

Oh Jovi I can completely relate to the weight off shoulders thing.  Silly isn't it? But very real.  That's what 3.59.59 is for me.  Enjoy it!  And fantastic to have done so many in one year.

Oh well. Today's attempt at an easy run - 6.68k, 34:33 - but knee pain and some walking again. From around 5k this time. Started a regime of foam roller on outer thighs - 4 minutes per leg, twice a day.

In the end I put on my new shoes* so that magical fix didn't work. As regards twisting the shoes to identify them being worn out; I tried twisting all three pairs - 400 miles, 450 miles and the new ones - and to be honest they were all equally hard to twist ... so none the wiser there. I don't think that my shoes are necessarily worn out, or even if they are not directly the cause of the problem, rather that I've now accumulated enough mileage on my feet since starting running again in February - about 400 miles as it happens - that ITB has become a problem again.

Iklebutn Miles wrote (see)

I have my 2nd TRS session tomorrow. Exciting. Finally feeling better hoorah just a snotty cold now.

Hope it goes really well ikle. Catch up soon offline x

* By the way, regarding shoes, they are Brookes Adrenaline GTS 8 (400 miles), GTS 9 (450 miles) and GTS 11 (new). So a "stability" shoe I think - I'm a serious over-pronator.

ikle you're absolutely right about the 16 weeks starting on 24th.

Ooh we've got some new smileys: etc. Nice touch.

Congrats to Jovi brilliant run, my dream is 3.59.59 too so can imagine how happy you are with 3.29 well done.

Had a five mile hilly cross country to work this morning and boy cold here minus six or seven as I came in, the river was steaming as I came over the bridge in Bakewell...... office is just about got up to 22.......just put up a bird feeder on the office window to feed the blue tits which are gathering as I type. Dont know how they survive in this weather. I am on week four of my 16 week schedule race day March 9th......get training folks there is no where to hide on the start line!!

mcs, birds don't get cold! I have to keep telling myelf this when I'm seeing swans doing headstands in the river by my flat. You are good with all your running. I haven't done any this week at all owing to my cold. Hope TRS session tonight doesn't kill me. Might cut it short if I feel weird.

Hi Jovi, nice to meet you! Massive congratulations on on the new PB - sub 3:30 is a massive milestone! Going for my first this spring and hoping for anything sub 4:00.

Cicero - hmm... difficult to know what to make of it! Although, as I said, my shoes are really not very twistable either - I think that trick only works for people with 'normal' pronation and have support shoes! Do you have a physio you can see? (Not the cheapest of ways of finding out, I'll admit!)

mcs - man, that is cold! We've dipped below freezing a few times but not sure it has got that cold! One of the few benefits of Essex!

Ikle - hope the cold gets better!

Ducks have special legs to keep the cold out apparently read about it IKLE.....
Wet wet wet here this am. First thing icy now wet....Ugh....Happy Friday and have a good weekend if you are racing.