sub 4 hour group,if anyone wants to get together

Sorry you're feeling rough, Susan.  But you will always survive a mara.  You've got ages to go. When's Brighton half?

I'm not doing Parliament hill next week. The original one was on the same day as the Tooting swim thing and the new date is the day before the Bramley 20.  So my xc season has finished. Yesterday's was the last.  I think it's served me well over the last few months - a good way of getting a good threshold run in. I always dread them because they're so hard, but as the season goes on the nastiness during the race diminishes.

Hope you feel better Susan.

I just did 17 miles with TGR. Was meant to be 16, but his Geography went a bit wrong. Nice to know that other people do that too.

Thanks for advice re training. If it's a training plan, why does it say do 12 the week before? Is it because it's the improver's one and I'm not really an improver?

All of me hurts. Now I need to work on the Literature Review part of my MA. To make it more fun I'm going to go to the coffee shop. Basey will come there too and work on job interviews. He's been for a thousand really good job interviews, had lots of brilliant feedback but then doesn't get the job because someone else has more this, more that. All very frustrating.

Was very cold out today. My left leg hurt but not in a debilitating way. It hurt from driving. I think I might have some kind of sciatic issue because it always hurts there on a long journey. top of leg under buttock and numb all the way down to little toe. When driving. When I run it's only the top of leg bit, but it doesn't slow me down. I'm happy to swap ITB for that... It doesn't really slow me down. I averaged 10 minute miles. With all this talk of slow LSRs I'm happy with that. Though still not convinced I could run a whole mara at 9:09. 

I love the smell of wetsuits. It makes me think of summer holidays and surfing and being really overexcited because I'm about to go surfing.

well done Ickle.

Brighton half next sunday AH - so am contemplating the x country at P. Hill saturday and the half sunday - wont be breaking any record so may just give both a go - so long as feeling fit.

cant explain how I feel today - its weird - sort of headachey weird feeling in the head and a bit spacey - strange -

Oh Bless you Scott. That's tough.

Great running going on Ikle and all well done. Redundancy has slightly distracted me the last few days and the search for a new job.   Got on it yesterday.I got up at 5.37 Sunday morning as my OH had woken me up and went out at six in the dark head torch on and in a snow sleety cold morning set off and did 17.1 miles in 2.37 so happy with that, was struggling abit for the last mile or three to keep going but kept the chimp in the box (reading the Sky Cycle Team Doctors book on the Chimp Mind) and made it home without stopping so mentally tough but made it. Work now well one week and I am on my own in the office as the other guy is in Belgium working all week. Fun, not going to be doing too much as they dont need me!!!   Stay sane and have a good week.

mmmmmm...... wetsuits and sex-wax - takes me back!

Scott - so sorry to hear your news, very sad to lose a four legged friend 

Ikle - great running (even at that incredibly slow pace ) - LSR lessons being learnt all over the place. Somehow 9min mile pace seems so much easier when you're surrounded by 000's of others.

mcs - epic run at that time of day. Hope you had a suitably large breakfast after?

Well done to the lazies (sorry I mean ladies) who managed a few extra hours in bed. I still can't do that whole lying in bed thing in the morning - just gotta get up it seems.

If you heard a strange plodding noise yesterday afternoon it was me clumping my way around 10 miles. At least it had stopped raining and in fact felt quite muggy. My neck is in spasm at the moment which doesn't help and in an effort to rub it better yesterday whilst running, my fingers slipped on the skin and gouged a big lump out with my super sharp finger nails (why do finger nails grow so quickly?) - ouch...

... still not as bad as a pain underneath the buttocks to the toes...

wow ikle well done on your 17

hen well done on the wetsuits... and massive well done on long run!

susan, see you at parly hill!! Gulp, I need to point ou to you that I am usually thelast lady up the hill, but that was a stone ago I so hope its not so on saturday!

dtf, ouch that sounds horrid with the neck!

scott, oh sad sorry to  hear that about your doggy

mcs nice long run too

my lsr was 13 miles, meant to be in 2.10, came in in 2.08 feel good.  Was hungry and pretty tired yesterday but legs are good.

Scott SO sorry about your woofer.

Ikle that leg/driving thing does sound like sciatica.  Keep stretching that piriformis.

Ran in the snow today. Was up high - it settled and was wonderfully wintery. Has all gone now.

Having trouble getting on with Very Important Work Things. Even the ironing's looking attractive.

Haha, Dave re the lazies!

and so much for being rested after yesterday's sleep and lie in.  Couldn't get to sleep last night. Was still tossing and turning at 1am.

Find if you have a lazy am, not that I do much you cant sleep at night!!! Prefer to get into a boring routine and keep at it. Holidays slay me............ Snow is melting here thankfully as want to run in to work in the morning.........got a few miles to get in this week with race day getting nearer.
Mate of mine is training for an iron man in Wales in September and is getting up at 5.30 every morning to swim and he finds he just wakes up that time every morning now. He is a good swimmer and cyclist having done the Etape last year but not run further than a half marathon. He is one big guy so the marathon is going to hurt, I keep encouraging him to come out running but not tempted yet.

(((Scott))), really sorry to hear about your dog. We've all been there, Fido and I recently. Never mentioned it but when I did the marathon on New Years Eve, our cat of 16 years we'd lost during the year popped into my thoughts at one point, I started crying whilst running. It was raining so no-one noticed but still sad.
I even ran the Edinburgh marathon with her picture in my belt and a little mantra to remind me. Look after yourself.

Ikle, agree with susan, AH & Dtf about your plan. Remember its flexible not a prescription so NOT "do these sessions to the letter and you will run the marathon in time X", more like a recipe with ingredients - , alter bits, vary to what you can do & fit in. Most people dont get that - Main aim is to get to start line injury free. Based on your history, I'd forget most of the "Fast Finish" bits apart from one or two near the date. If you get tired, consider dropping one of those longer runs down for a kick back week. As for the half, depends if its race effort or at marathon pace with 5-7 miles around it.
Once you're tapered, so refreshed and recharged, 9-9.30 pace will seem so much easier.

Rubber chicken, sorry I mean Artful Hen . Great XC & Long run. Yes, that 2:45 thread was good read. Friend is doing the HADD style training and working well.

Susan, hope you're feeling better. A few bugs going around. Doing XC & Half back to back? less is more?

Wabo, you will be faster.. guaranteed !

mcs - good that you are optimistic. Inner Chimp well under control for you I guess.

I did a magnificent 3 miles yesterday, 60 miles the week before to 13 slow last week. Planned rest. 8-10 miles tomorrow, 10-11 Thursday and maybe another 20 on Sunday, No 4. Or maybe not, since its flexible

Cross Country and a half back to back when I have done diddly squat so far is not so bad FRC .. I wont "race" the half as I know I wont do a pb and its a LSR cue other conversation - its a long slow run - okay not so long for lots of you but for me still quite long... Wabo - I am happy to meet up with you and run for a bit and see how we go - I dont want to go fast because of doing the half the next day ..

have got a weird sore rib cage - thought it was a slow heart attack this morning but its more ribs / muscles - no idea how / why ?  I did lie in bed (lazies) but was totally reading my book - nothing to affect a sore rib cage (sadly ..) so dont know what it is - will try track tomorrow and see how much it hurts.. cant have broken my ribs in my sleep ??? maybe I am just generally falling apart and becoming old and decrepit.... need to do some more miles ... oh well.  Not today.

where is WT ??

Sad news Scott - as FRC says, we've been there and it breaks your heart. I still miss our girl.

Dtf - ooch.

Slack - there is an odd thing like that which oh gets; he is still with us.

Have cold now. Naargh

Quick dash to work this morning as nearly late, but who cares I am surplus to requirements, I wasn't late anyway as being the only one here had to get here to take the phone call at 8.29 alarge order for 12K.........made the three miles in 21.47 which is quickish for me.............
Rejected from one job interview from last week, drove all the way and got a cracked windscreen which is going to cost me £70 even on insurance and then NO JOBaggghhhhh annoyed.
Time for a coffee and calm down time. Happy Tuesday all. Keep on running.....freezing here this morning.