Virgin London Marathon 2011 First Timers

Thanks Mike,

Is this your first time,??? 

Its going to be great to have some people to call on through some challenging times and as I run on my own not feel isolated ( we will all be going through it together)

Are we nutty????

Kellyx  

Hi kelly , yes its my first time , got in thriugh the ballot last year but had to defer entry due to injury and therefore not enough training . So I have lots of determination to do the training and get round the 26.2 miles this time !! And yes i think we must be mad but when we complete it and WE WILL complete it , its gonna be a proud day

Barking!

I also run alone, so be good to have some support.

Ran the Royal Parks a couple of weeks ago & the thought of doing the whole distance over scares me silly.. I'm running for a Breast Cancer Charity, so fund raising here I come!

Hx 

Hi Wendy 

Hi Kelly  

and welcome to you both. Look forward to hearing about your training etc..

Mike's idea of signing up to FETCHEVRYONE site is an excellent idea ( RW have no problem with this either ) good place to log training, runs etc. ( althooug I have only ever used it for races  & must get round to more details on logging training )

9.00 am Sat - I volunteered to marshall at Sunderland Parkrun - still enjoyable ( & you get 100 points !! )

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/sunderland/Home.aspx

1.00pm Sat ran for club ( Elvet Striders ) in the XC harrier League at Cramlington ( 6 miles over a very, very muddy wet & windy course - still good fun though ).

youngster's race first, then Men, then women ( 4miles )  - pictures here of the Ladies race taken by one of my club colleagues

http://www.flickr.com/photos/djnisbet/sets/72157625225067112/with/5107570157

Hello

Am running london for the first time too..... can i join in... I got in on the ballot 5 times rejected.

Also can somebody PLEASE tell  me how to get rid of this runners world click to change picture which i am unable to change!!!!!

Hi Wendy, Kelly, Helen & Matty's mum!

 I agree with Nick, Fetch is a great site but like Nick not using it properly for the training - yet! I logged a run last wek for the first time but will continue to try and do so now!

I went for a 2 hour POSE runing session yesterday as I have been having so many problems with injuries recently (still "injured" as I write) I thought I would give it a go. It's very interesting watching yourself back on the video to see how forms differ. Felt very strange running on the front of the foot rather than the heel though so will keep you all up to speed over the next few months as to my progress or otherwise. I had been trying it (wrongly) after looking at stuff on the web but got so much more out of actually having some one to one time with someone who knows what they're talking about!

Catch y'all later folks - keep running

PS - Mattys mum -  5 times rejected must have been hard to take! I have the same click to change picture thingy, don't worry about it, RW just have to approve your avatar and then your pic will be up, can take a few days apparently! Hope that helps..... 

Hello all,

I'm certainly looking forward to getting to know you all a bit better, it's like having our own little support group.

Do you do all of your running outside or on the treadmill?

I try to do at least one run a week outside, my only choice at the moment.  Am on hols for another week and none of the treadmills in the hotel gym work - how rubbish is that?  But it's the end of the season and they don't seem to care - obviously no one that works here runs.

It does force me to get up a bit earlier though which I guess is good as i do have a habit on holiday of wasting my day sleeping.

Anyhow, I hear it's pretty cold back in blighty at the mo, so I won't ramble on about poor me running in the heat.

Claire

X

Hi all

Thanks Miggito...yeah being rejected 5 times was bad!!! After last year i lost the will to run for about 6 months!!!

I didnt even get my "Congratulations " magazine this year.... cheek.. until i phoned and told them after 5 rejection magazines they can make sure they send it!!!!!!

vds..... yeah i have entered the Norwich half in November. Did it a few years ago when they held it in July and it was the hottest day of the year... awful.... it can only be better this time!

Hi All

 I shall be running London for the first time.  I finally got a ballot place after being reject 4 times.  Lucky really as my ambition is to run London before I'm 30 and I shall be 30 next October.

I'd hoped to run with my dad but unfortunatly he isn't well enough yet.  Him and my mum watched the 1st london the year i was born and since then he has run it 5 times.  He was supposed to run again in 2003 but was diagnosed with cancer, so I shall be running for Macmillan who have helped him get better.

I did my second half marathon today, Birmingham half, my first one was 7 weeks ago.  Did it in 2hrs 20 so pretty pleased with that, so hoping to build up training from there.

My main aim is to finish but if i can come in before 5hrs 30 I'll be very pleased and less than 5 hrs I'll be extatic.

Going to take a few days off for my knees to recover now, but dieing to get out soon as I've just got runners world playlists 1 and 3 and really want to try them out.  Also just invested in a treadmill for those icy days and when its too dark to get out, though i hope to most of my training on the roads.

Lucy

vds wrote (see)

 geordie nick - I didn't realize parkrun gives you points for volunteering! I can't run them every week as it makes my Sunday long run too difficult - but I think I will volunteer a few times. Though it's getting cold! vds

Hi VDS

yeh, you can volunteer as many times as you like, but you only get points (100 ) 3 times a year

Still good to do as Volunteers are always needed and each Parkrun relies on this help - without the volunteers, none of us can run.

well done Lucy at Birmingham 1/2 today - good right to be pleased

should give you a ot of confidence for next April .

I've got a half marathon to do on Wednesday ( one with a difference !! ) even have to bring Passport ( or other photo ID )

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafspadeadam/rafcms/mediafiles/125ECAD8_5056_A318_A897324A86116F37.pdf

bit apprehensive as there will be only about 80 runners ( so could be a bit exposed !! )

also doesn't pay to wander off the course ( wide forest track & open land) as it's possible to end up on a firing range !!

hope I get back to report on the race. 

Lucy - congrats on your half time, and geordie nick good luck for yours - please make sure you stay on course!

I managed to get myself out of bed this morning for the after adoption 10k in hyde park - gorgeous morning for it but freezing while waiting for the start.  Managed a time of 54 mins which was a PB so was happy

Not looking forward to the dark evenings, always gets tricky to find good well-lit routes.  A bit reluctant to resort to the treadmill but may have to.  Is it true that you should set it to a small gradient to make it more realistic to running outside?

Hi!

 Sorry, it posted my message before I had a chance to write anything! Erm, I'm running the VLM for the first time next April too! Its nice to know that I'm not the only one out there!  It sounds like most of you are experienced runners though; quite the opposite of me! On my application form for running for RNIB I told them the furthest I had run was for a bus, and they accepted me! It will be the first time I have run in any event, let alone one as big and exciting as the London marathon.

Some might ask why the hell I applied and started off with an event so huge in the first place? Well, my Grandad and I had a joke that we would run the marathon every year we watched it on TV. When he was passing away earlier this year, I promised I would run the marathon for him and make him proud. When he died it was the first thing I thought of doing. After talking to someone who had been rejected to run the marathon 4 times, they told me to apply this year for 2011 because it was very unlikely I would be accepted for the first few years and after 5 years of rejection they guarantee you a place. So I thought I would have at least a couple of years to train. I was so shocked when I had been told that I had got a place! But I am determined to do it and make my Grandad proud. Now you know my back story, can anyone give me advice on what not to do when training, any products that they find helpful? Pretty please.

 Its nice to meet you all and good luck to everyone with their training! Its amazing that we're all running this event, however daunting 26 miles sounds!

Cherylx

Morning All,

Cheryl, you are definately not alone! I'm 41, smoked 20 a day for 20+ years & was never anygood at sport.. BUT, I do believe you can do virtually anything you put your mind to & that if the mind is willing, the body can usually be kicked into shape.

What a glorious weekend. Ran 7 miles through Friston Forest in the mud with Reg the Terrier & fleetingly into the oncoming Beachy Head Marathoners... I salut you all!

Need to find another running partner though, Reg gets tired over 6 miles & runs just infront of me where he gradulay starts to slow down until I'm bearly running! Good practice in avoiding objects though, my hurdling is coming on a treat. He's prone to stopping dead! Still he doesn't winge when we hit the hills..

A winter full Sundays like yesterday please..