ILX running running thread

4.8km in 38 mins, but kept up a slow jog for 80% of it this time. enough of an improvement that i'm looking forward to tomorrow night already.

V. nice!

the hope is that in 3 months time i'll be cringing at these times, but feel pretty f-in amazing right now just to be able to go near enough 5k at a jog and not really be out of breath. long run at the weekend (hope to get in maybe 5 miles) will be a teller. starting to believe that the half marathon in july is a realistic target, which is great.

back to back mon/tues 45 minute/4 mile-or-so jogs with the dog through melting snowbanks ankle to knee high; feet soaked through by the first third each time. memorable moments! good times!

i've got my mutt out there with me too -- he is SO excited to be back doing his dog jogs.
i hear the weather is going to be 40-50 in chicago this weekend! excited.

the hope is that in 3 months time i'll be cringing at these times

Well you shouldn't, cos doing 40 minutes of running in week two is bloody great. Top man!

:) Ta. If I can keep that pace tonight I'll be delighted.

Legs still sore from Sunday's 12 miler in what are essentially trail racing flats, I headed out for 4 easy miles last night. It's amazing how one can be sore before a run, sore after a run, then wake up the next day and feel fantastic. Never ceases to amaze me. Sore from running? Well, shit... go run and you'll feel better!

signed up for a 10k on may 1st, nice little tester.

Rock 'n' roll!

tumble, roll, get back to feet, examine for damage, wheeze onwards tbh.

You speak too soon. I have a feeling it'll be a great race for you. I advise you run comfortably, don't kill yourself, just enjoy the distance and let the chips fall where they may. Distance first priority, speed second.

yeah that's the plan in a big way. i've put it in the schedule as a good halfway point tester and something to go for in the short term to keep me focused, and finishing it won't be a problem by that stage (i hope).

Yeah, should keep you motivated and it should help take the edge off any nerves too.

Good luck!

ilxor is correct regarding the priority. I have a hard time with 8 and 10K's. Even though I run that distance frequently in training, every time I get in a race situation I always want to go as fast as I can and end up being miserable the whole race.

cheers guys. It's on my local patch, so I know to conserve energy for the last 2.5 km, which is no joke gonna be a mad sprint past vicious sheepdogs. i reckon this will catch many by surprise.

Marathon training question. So I will start my official marathon training in June. Should I run an half marathon race sometime before the big one? There are two in Chicago, on 8/1 and 9/12. I know I will frequently be running that distance in training, but is it advisable to throw in a race?

well i feel fully qualified in saying i dunno

a mad sprint past vicious sheepdogs

Now we're talking.

these sheepdogs know my scent of old, this may or may not be a factor on the day

Marathon training question. So I will start my official marathon training in June. Should I run an half marathon race sometime before the big one? There are two in Chicago, on 8/1 and 9/12. I know I will frequently be running that distance in training, but is it advisable to throw in a race?

I've done this before and it works great, as long as you don't overextend yourself and get injured and sidelined. This past season I ran a half in October, 25k (15.5 miles) in November, then a marathon in January, and it worked great for me -- but I was careful not to kill myself in the shorter races.

The year prior, I ran a half in January, three weeks prior to my first marathon, and ended up with a strained quadricep (the half was mostly downhill), so I was sidelined for two weeks and rested most of the third anyway (marathon week). Restrained the muscle in the full marathon and had to walk in the last five miles or so.

So, in answer, it can work both ways, in my experience. I'd recommend running the half easy, as if it was a training run.

I would say so. You'll do a race faster than you would go in a training run, so that's beneficial training-wise, and it's also a good dress-rehearsal for the full marathon. You get to test your kit, test out your eating and drinking strategies, get used to running in a huge group of people, practise your pacing, go through the whole pre-race nerves thing... It'll also give you some idea of what time to aim for in the real thing.

But don't do one too soon before the marathon - maybe at about 6-8 weeks to go?

actual email i have just received-

'Farral Gallagher has upgraded the Collie he used to have to an Alsation(sp). Much harder to outrun and the damage they do when they catch you is crazy.Gerry Fadian in Dookinella still has two Collies, not the friendliest types either Ye may need to carry a few bits of steak to distract them, factor that into yer training'

fun times.

You'll be fine as long as your mates just that bit slower.

four days this week! good weather! sinus infection! dog is lunging at passers by! ups and downs!

You're going to have one fit dog eh?

easier to just train as a butcher imo

Would love a dog to go running with tbh. Have been banned from having one though :(

Err, banned by the mrs, not by a court of law, I should add.

BTW anyone see the Eddie Izzard program about his marathon running? Missed it here, need to fire up the iPlayer in the next couple of days...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00r8zr8

^ this thing, posting here to remind myself.

Not available in my area :/

my dog and i have been out 3x this week, but i had a root canal and that has cramped my style substantially :(

my dog's style is not cramped at all

My dog has a few major running issues and they are cramping the hell out of my style: lots of lunging at dogs, occasional lunging at people, stopping for no particular reason, racing for no particular reason, trying to eat canadian goose shit...

lots of lunging at dogs, occasional lunging at people
you rang?
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4377912798_22e528487e.jpg

he is a hardcore dingaling when it comes to socializing

my girl has been getting worse just lately. I think we're gonna get some behavior help.

I almost tripped over a dog today. He was lunging at another dog.

6 miles yesterday, 4 today. Feels good, need to keep going out. I really regret the amount I've ran in the last 3 months. It affected my endurance so much. I look at my november numbers and it just makes me sick to see how much I have been slacking off.

7.5 km today, 70 mins or so (really must get a stopwatch, or hell even a watch). felt fantastic, could have gone on for the 10k i think but that's another day's work. picked up a pair of fila for 20 quid that have made a huge difference.

Man, that's phenomenal. Woot!

So cold today. From the bottom of my frozen testicals, fuck you north wind.

You know when you're defrosting your icebox and you reach right into the back of it and find like two shriveled sprouts and a mini-sausage encrusted in the ice? Well, that was me trying to take a whizz. Didn't know whether to call a doctor or a chef.

i have literally never found those items in my icebox

Went out in the (very light) rain for a 14 mile muddy trail run. Nice pace throughout, finished in about 2-1/2 hours. Think I did 34 miles on the week...

rock!
i'm aiming for four jogs a week, about 3 to 4 miles a go.
if i can do that for the next two weeks, I'll be ready to start moving into second gear. Keep an eye on me plz.

10K in 49.03! Not far off the magic 48mins!

Since I've been slacking so much this year in order to make it to 1000 miles, I need to run essentially a 5K a day for the rest of the year. Or 21.8 miles a week. That's doable, but I need to get out there, like right now. During marathon training I'll be averaging 23 to 26 miles a week. I'm sure I'll have bigger weeks outside of that too.