ILX running running thread

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.

the weather is so amazing this week. i really don't have time to run today but i think i'll do it and miss out on sleep later, it's so gorgeous.

this year in order to make it to 1000 miles

This was my goal for a while, but right now it's looking like I'll easily hit 1,500. Was thinking about boosting my goal to 2,010 miles in 2010... but that may be a stretch. Opinions?

Go for it! What's the worse thing that could happen? You won't make it, but you'll still run a frak of a lot of miles.

2000 miles in a year seems p doable considering how much u run

2,000 miles is something like 40 miles a week. One long run at the weekend, 4 or 5 decent length runs during the week or something like that? Once your legs get used to it, it's not so bad (been averaging a little over that for the last couple of months), but it's just finding the time to do it every day that's more of an issue (have built it into my commute here, so it doesn't really conflict with anything else).

2,000 miles is something like 40 miles a week.

It's 38.5 per week, specifically.

the problem there is just what if you get injured or burned out or something, that sort of distance would be hard for me to imagine catching up on!

I'm actually already playing catch-up, since I've averaged closer to 25 per week this year to date. But I won't force it, it should just come naturally given my training. Thinking about a 50 miler/100k later this year, which would boost me to 40-60 miles per week given a more intensive training schedule. So I'll just aim for whatever's coming up and train accordingly, and maybe the 2,010 will come along with it.

My knee is not right and hurting after I run on it, has been like that at least since I mentioned doing 10 miles upthread. Something at the front/top of the knee, when my weight is on it and when I go down the stairs post-run it feels like all the strength has gone out of it and I sort of limp. Got a half marathon at the end of the month and I think I'll probably be alright as a one-off but what does the collective wisdom of ilx recommend? Don't know if I should bother a doctor with it. I'm guessing stretches, less knackered shoes, mixing in cycling &c. will be good ideas but don't really know what's most important or how to heal quickest.

rest rest rest. I'd also do some leg strengthening exercises, like leg lifts.

tried to do two quick miles today, still took 22 mins. didn't have to stop at all, so that's a plus i guess.

rest rest rest.

^

just not sure how much w/ a half marathon in 3 weeks

I hate that feeling. I had it when I started running again back in August and it feels like your knee is going to bend the wrong way and collapse in on itself.

Rest for 3 days, then go for a short gentle run. If that still hurts a lot, have another 3 days off and repeat. If it feels alright, don't push it too hard too soon. Take some ibuprofen in the meantime, and wouldn't hurt to talk to someone in a running shop about your shoes either. Good luck with it though.

knocked 4 mins off my 5k time, next target 30 mins.

6 miles tonight. Over 60 degrees!JKLjklsdafjklsdklj; I haven't sweated this much in months.

5 miles clocked before 9am on a saturday. am down 12 lbs since wednesday 24th Feb :D