Sat 1 Oct 2011

I cant avoid the lightning

Morning all

80 miles on bike in the rain coming up!

Dustin - don't do it - run in gear - your'e a runner!!

40 - all the best tomorrow

Ale - hardly ideal preparation!!

Chick - all the best. I hope its not too hot!!!

Words - Apt!!

Morning.

About the same for me Paddy - but in the sunshine thankfully - I shall be getting the sunscreen out. Mind you - I expect mine will take me a little longer than yours.

NZC - nice to see you, I was getting a little worried.

Chickadeee - hope you're feeling great and raring to go.

Alehouse - sorry to hear you didn't have the race you wanted.

RFJ - hope the couple of rest days do the trick.

What:           long bike/short, easy run
Why:             peak weeks
Last hard:   18/9
Last rest:     19/9

Lyrics - yes.

Afternoon everyone - very quiet here!

What:  Rest
Why:  Burnham Half tomorrow
Last hard:  3 days
Last rest:  1 day
Lyrics:  No

Race will be my first half since I was ill at the beginning of 2009, so not much recent experience to work off.  On the positive side, training has been going well lately.  On the negative side I have some doubts regarding endurance - not done a marathon in ages and I tire towards the end of long runs - and then there's the weather!
Race tactics - guzzle sports drink just before the start, 7:00 pace target, review after 10 miles.

Off to collect minibus later this afternoon.

Well, i got absolutely drenched in Irish Indian Summer torrential rain for over 4 hours. Still, I managed my 80 mile spin.

I have a theory that long cycles will help my overall april marathon plan due to its aerobic benefits. Discuss.

All the best again tomorrow 40.

Afternoon all,

Yes, seriously quiet here. Hope everyone is out engaged in good works.

Well done on the seriously long spin Paddy. Don't like cycling in rain, particularly if I have to share the road with cars and puddles. I think there is precedent for people doing good marathons off training that has had a large cycling component at the expense of running. I seem to recall an article about one on this thread, suggesting his strategy of diversification would never take him where he wanted to go with running. That might be true, but I wold reckon it is better to do the second choice aerobic training rather than prang yourself with more running than the connecting bits can handle. Shame we don't all have the bodies our discipline, our will and our hearts desire, but we don't.

I often feel like a very fine three legged racehorse. Not entirely the lady I wanted to be. (Suitable for meat only?)

LMH - good day for cycling here, although seriously hot. Hope you had plenty of water.

40 - all the best for tomorrow. I can imagine it is scary getting back to racing longer distances. I think you know your own head well enough to make the best use of the strengths you've got.

Me? I did the long run. I ran from Cambridge to St. Ives. 15.6 miles. No, I am not going to tell you how long it took me. I do have some pride, if not a lot. I was carrying a pack including two litres of water, lunch, binoculars and a book on birds, a small paintbox and paper to paint on. I didn't actually intend to run all the way to St. Ives, it just happened that when I got to the RSPB place at Fenstanton I still felt more like running than getting the paints or binoculars out. I had a small lunch of cheese, a few oatcakes and an apple, and kept going. Celebrated with ice cream and coke - put the scoop of ice cream into the coke - a revolting childhood delicacy that I haven't indulged in since I was ten, but it seemed the right thing at the time. Bus home, now still working on rehydration (2 litres was not enough) with iced tea, squash, anything I can get my hands on.

Sailing tomorrow.

go well all.

Congrats on those that got into London

40: running Bremen marathon tomorrow (I live in Germany these days). Forecast 23 degrees and sunny. It's so not what I bargained for when I decided on an autumn marathon. But hey, can't be changed and I have to live with it. The start will be cool, I reckon the last hour may be painful. If I live to tell the tale you will all hear it tomorrow.
Best of luck to you tomorrow - hope 7mm will feel easy and you come through flying!!!

RFJ: I didn't know you were working so far from home. That's pretty horrendous . Hope you get the job!

alehouse: sorry your 5k didn't quite go to plan . These short distances can be evil buggers. I hate them with a vengeance. Probably because I'm so crap at them and have pretty much zero speed.

stickless: that's quite some distance to do just because ...  or are you secretly training for an event again?

OK, on the positive side: feeling much much better and breathing seems a lot less laboured. On the negative: I'm fat and I'm slow and I don't like the heat! Still, the end of taper madness has arrived and I'm ready to give it a decent shot tomorrow.

First time posting in one of these threads so sorry if my post doesn't quite fit in:

What: Longer run (37.09), steady pace with a quick 5 minute burst at the end
Why: Nice weather and due a long run, haven't had one since last week...
Last Hard: Yesterday at the gym
Last Rest: Thursday
Lyrics: No

Hi Connor.

Chickadee - good luck with your marathon, hope it isn't as hot as you think it will be. Sometimes if you don't expect a lot, you get a nice surprise, hoping you have a good one.

Stickless - great stuff - nice indulgence too!

Paddy - I think long cycles will help your cycling, but you are already a good runner, you just have to get your injury sorted. Personally, I'd avoid any surgery.

40 mins - good luck with the half - enjoy.

What: Over 17 hilly miles, with one hill that goes on for about half an hour!

Why: Long run from Titirangi - didn't want another ticket.

Then went to the English v Scottish World Cup Rugby game. First upset was that Tonga beat the French, but will not progress to the next level, seems a bit unfair as the French are the current World Cup Champions!

Anyway, the atmosphere was fantastic, and great costumes. There were a couple of young "bravehearts", bearing their chests, and everyone else was wrapped up warmly. They did have a pipe band before the game, so that was nice.

The English were very quiet for most of the game, and Johnny got a lot of harsh heckling, but the English finally held out the Scottish. I really just wanted to see a good game, but decided on English colours, and my husband Scottish. Well he is a Munro, even though his Munro ancestor was born in 1840! And I tracked my English ancestors down too. The most surprising were those who were baptised in "St Martins in the Field" - the church in Trafalgar Square. So I was singing, "maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, that I love London town". Well, I was at home, before the game, just to put me in the mood!

Stickless
Great long run, not sure about coke & ice cream, but then I've never tried it!

Connor - Welcome

NZC
Enjoyed your rugby & ancestral stories

chicka
Hope it goes well, look forward to your report.