VOTE Shady_Ady

Hi, just realised that I havent yet been on your thread yet despite chatting to you on the asics 26.2 thread. 

What was the great wall of China marathon like? Ive always wanted to walk it for charity (in addition to walking up kilimanjiro and walking the Inca Trainl....but my OH says no)!

I dont know if I could eat the food in China, think I would be more like Karl Pilkinton with monster munch! 

From my experience, losing my running cherry was everything I hoped it would be and more. It left me feeling quite infatuated and obsessed. Totally different to popping my other cherry but that's not for this forum page!

Giving yourself 2-3 months before your first Park Run should leave you in a very strong and confident position. I think I've said this already, but the first time you do it, don't worry about your time. Just enjoy the experience and you then have a time to beat next time!

Have you tried the cycling shorts under your running shorts yet? That's what I was trying to say before. Sorry if I didn't say that clearly. Without my cycling shorts on I still get issues with the inner lining thingy as well.

I wouldn't knock your American experience as not being in the same bracket as China (I'm not just saying that because I'm married to one!). I once accidentally started a bar brawl when singing karaoke as some of the crowd kicked off because I hadn't chosen a country song to sing! That's still a cultural experience in my eyes! Good luck with Japan!

Sorry if this sounds a horrid cliche and big headed, but I feel extremely pleased with my current fitness levels, especially in terms of distance. I ran 3 marathons a half and an ultra in the 2nd half of this year and I used these to do my long runs in a race environment. I wanted to build up my fitness so the marathon distance no longer seems daunting. It doesnt feel daunting now and as I already have that base level of fitness it means I will be able to hopefully concentrate more on my speed. Win or lose I'm confident ill break my pb next Spring.

It's going to be squeaky bum time the next three days until they announce the winners. I'm no even in a position to bad mouth any of my competitors as I don't have a single bad word against them. They have been all amazingly genuine and supportive. I've tried my best and that's all that matters!

Around Milton Keynes is a nice place for running. I did my fastest half marathon there. Maybe if you enjoy your park runs and want to run further, you could go the half marathon there the following year?

Hey Sarah. No problem. I only started looking at all the threads yesterday as I've had more time over the weekend to do it. I still haven't voted so will check out everyone again this afternoon!

Great Wall of China Marathon was both amazing and brutal. You only do about 10km on the wall itself but the steps are knee high. Not what you need when you do the 2nd section at 20miles(ish) in.

I lived on the 31at floor so would run up and down my apartment building 5 times as practise but this still didn't prepare me.

It was difficult to find safe food that I could trust the night before the race as I was worried about an upset stomach. I only ate rice. So when I hit the wall about 20 miles in, I really hit the wall (sorry for the pun, couldn't resist!). Monster Munch would have served me better!

I was puking everywhere and was starting to think my race was over. So I rested under a tree for 20mins, sipped a bottle of coke kindly donated by another runner and slowly walked the rest of the race. It was 30 degrees C and a lot of runners were in the same position. Finished just over 6 hrs.

If you do go to China, never ever eat boiled silkworms. EVER!

Why is your OH against Inca Trail and Kilamanjaro? Is it an altitude thing?

Hi Adrian

I would say I'm a seasonal runner so I tend to stop in the winter months as I'm from a tropical country. However, this year I found a great couple of friends at work that have motivated me to keep on running. Specially one that has inspired me to enter my first ever half marathon. How on earth can I make myself find the right attitude to put the trainers on and go out in the cold and wind? What's your first thought when you see out of the window and it's all gray and dark? 

Hi Liliana

Thanks for your post.

I think I'm in a similar position. Where I work there are several people that run at lunch with and it helps immensely for me having other people doing the same thing. It's much harder then to talk yourself out of running. If your work friends are running through the winter months then I'd hope this would keep you running too.

I also make sure I have a marathon to focus on in the Spring. This is the biggest motivator in keeping me running through the winter months. Enter one for the spring and see how much more guilt you feel when you miss out on a run!

I don't like running in the dark. I do it if I have to, but I normally do my runs at lunch. It also helps to break up my working day too. If I do have to run in the rain or dark weather I just think of how I will feel if I make up some lame excuse and not go. This works every time for me.

What half marathon have you entered? Is this in the Spring?

Evening Ady! Yes same here - lunchtime runs are great ... so long as you have a shower at work! Definitely re-sets the day though if you have a run at lunchtime - feels like you're starting fresh again in the afternoon!

So true....it's like you're doing two days of work in the same day. 

The worst thing though is when you get back after a run and realise you forgot your towel.............the feeling of drying yourself with your wet running clothes is as dirty as I'd imagine the walk of shame is on a Sunday morning.

Hi Ady,

Wow! lol that was a great story about China!

You've got my vote and I definitely hope you get through as I have a feeling you might have a few more interesting experiences to share!

I was wondering as well if you run with a Garmin or something similar and find this helpful. I'm rubbish at judging distances so when I have ran outside I've tried to use an app on my phone to record my distance but have had problems with it freezing mid-run. Although of course I didn't notice until I got back home and it can be very frustrating to look forward to seeing your time/distance and realise the app stopped after the first 10 minutes! Can you suggest any apps or do you think a Garmin is worth the expense for a beginner?

Just a photo to go with my Great Wall of China post earlier. This was in the early stages of the race before the vomitting started!

A nice white shirt to accentuate the vomit dribble too!  And with matching white long socks...oh no, my bad, they are just your legs!

A great picture mate, looking in control at that point too

Hi Ace,

Thanks for the message. The picture above is from the Great Wall of China Marathon....still fresh faced and bushey tailed! If only I knew!

I do run with a Garmin (it's probably the best present my wife has bought me - I'm not sure if this comment would annoy her or not!). I'd be lost without it to be honest. I use Garmin Connect as well (http://connect.garmin.com/) to analyse and view my workouts. I have a morbid fascination for doing this and it's really good to see where I started to go slower and if I should have pushed harder when going up a hill, etc.

If you're only just starting to run, then I'm not sure if it's a definite accessorie to have immediately. You could always use a website like www.mapmyrun.com to work out a route near you, and work out exactly how far you want to run. Then you could just use a stopwatch. (Garmins aren't the cheapest stocking filler to ask for )

I did use a similar phone app when my wife and I did our Lands End to John o'Groats walk, so we could keep a record of exactly how far we walked.....but like you, it kept freezing......plus it wasn't the best when going through parts of the country with poor signal. We just used mapmyhike (like mapmyrun) to figure out how far we'd gone.

But yes, if you have the spare cash, Garmins are excellent pieces of equipment (and remember, you can use them for more than just timing yourself - you can measure your heart rate as well). I havent used mine for this, but reading comments on RW makes me realise how useful this is. 

I hope this rambling has helped you. If not, some other Target 26.2 runners were talking about it at http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/spring-marathon/asics-target-262---2013/230129.html forum page 

 

HEY.........leave my legs out of it! I'd only just emerged from a harsh cold winter 

Thanks Paul.......and Xyloid......it's amazing what a coke spillage can cover up!

While I might have looked in control (thanks for those words Paul!) in the last picture.......this photo is probably the angriest I've ever looked. 

I ran London 6 days after getting my PB in Boston (I never thought I'd get past the ballot stage of London, which is why I had already committed to Boston before I found out). As I like a challenge, I thought 'what the hell'....I certainly wasn't thinking that at this point!

and this was Boston 6 days earlier....what a difference a marathon, lack of jet lag and rest can make!

 

All great pictures

I like the last two pictures, they really made me laugh. They're almost like before and after pictures. Boston photo - "Before I ran 2 marathons in a week." London photo - "After I got a PB and ran another marathon 6 days later."

Can't say the look on your face in the London photo is really inspiring me to run a marathon though...

Sorry if you've said this already and I missed it, but out of curiosity, what was your time at London?

Haha,......thanks Ace. The London photo isn't one of my best that's for sure, but I was absolutely shattered.

My time in London wasn't anywhere near my best. I finished in 4hrs 30mins (give or take a minute or two). I suppose I had done my 3:44 PB only 6 days earlier. I wasn't feeling too bad for the first half of London. I passed halfwway in 1:52, but walked for most of the last 10 miles. 

It was a good experience, as it helped me mentally for my first Ultra.

This was the reason I had a rest day on Saturday............

 ..........well a rest day from running. I swear, playing for 4 hours straight with my niece leaves me feeling more exhausted than any marathon I've ran........you can tell I don't have children yet!