Running

No experience running but cycling I find my HR is higher for the same cycling "effort" for the day after giving blood. LSD running will be fine as you'll avoid getting near your upper limit (which will be temporarily lowered). I struggle with 5-a-side football if I've given blood earlier that day but then my heart rate is 20bpm higher playing 5-a-side than it is steady running.

There's a reason why dopers do blood packing. Losing 1/8th of your red blood cells has an effect, and ramming them back in again once your body has replenished them must make you feel invincible. (Don't forget to set the alarm for 3am to do some pushups).

In the reverse situation (doing lots of exercise in the run up to giving blood) there are a few Audaxers elsewhere who mention it's not uncommon to fail the blood haemoglobin (drop of blood in the copper sulphate solution) test a few days after a long ride. I almost failed when I gave blood 3 days after a 300km Audax, but the drop just sank fast enough. I wouldn't be surprised if a half marathon would cause you to fail the Hcg test for a day or two after, with a full marathon failing for 3 or 4 days.

Anyway, giving blood is the most important thing. #rep

but go to the cheese festival as well.

Definately this.

I have set meself a goal: Run a marathon before I turn 30 (next Sept).

I am hoping to get a place for London next year*, looking at training plans online they all to build the distance slowly up towards the full marathon, fair enough, but they start small. So if I was to follow a training plan it'd mean dropping my distances down and slowly building up again to where I am now. At the moment I'm running about 30k a week (and have been for a little while), so would I be better to maintain this sort of distance for a while before starting to build up rather than dropping down to the start of a training plan?

I know I have more time to train than most training plans would have you go for, but I'd really like to go in well prepared and post a good time (for me, at least). I'm thinking of starting to build up the distance in the next few weeks, maybe starting by running a 13 mile LSD for a few weeks and then slowly increasing these. I figure if I'm more used to running the longer distances then on the day it won't be 26 miles of hell. Also it'll give me more time to work on speed, pacing etc.

*if this doesn't happen then I'll find another marathon to enter before Sept.

I'm thinking the same for next year. Spend this winter building a good base fitness and a bit of speed-work. Paris or Barcelona sounds nice.

Hatbeard followed a marathon plan that worked very well for him.
@Hatbeard - What was the name of the training plan?

Hanson's?

I still think I'd like to know what running over 20 miles feels like, but I reckon it makes sense to have the endurance for that earlier on, rather than be peaking at 2 weeks before the event as you would in a "normal" training plan.

Build from where you're at shouldn't be a huge problem, just keep it sensible. Many first timers are "completers" rather than "competers" so first timers plans are geared towards that goal.

4 different plans to choose from here:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/143.shtml

Yeah I did the Hanson's plan and if you want to dedicate the time into it I found it to work very well. I went from not being able to do 5k in Oct to the full marathon no bother by April.

I'm currently on a diet to try and drop some weight i've gained over the summer and slowly building my base fitness back up with a tempo and speedwork session each week, then come Oct I'm doing an 8-week sub 45min 10km training plan to build up some speed for the Movember 10k at end of November with an aim of smashing my 46:20 pb. 2 weeks after that I'll be starting hanson'ss again for April's Paris Marathon. however as the plan starts out easing you in I'm just going to keep training at the same level as the peak of the 10k plan until the hansons plan catches up and then I'll switch to what they're doing. no point training less at the start of a plan if you're already up to speed. I think generally they do that to ease people coming up to that point into the increased training load gradually.

I'm still waiting to hear back on tokyo but my marathon training would begin at the start of november then however the first 6 weeks of hanson is base building so I'd stick to the 10k plan for then anyways.

You doing the XC series @ Avon Heath @Roy-B ?

Dunno when are they?
Come down and do exact k reps with me later, at slades before coaching, like to do 8 but will be more like 5 prolly.
Anyway half five if youre about

http://www.poolerunners.com/general-news/wessex-league-cross-country/
Sunday 5th

Many first timers are "completers" rather than "competers"

Yeah I do appreciate my targets should be:

1. Get to start line fit
   
2. Get to finish line
   
3. Get to finish line in target time
   
   

in that order.

I'm going to continue with my 3 runs a week schedule for the time being and start building the LSD runs up slowly. The other two runs are normally tempo (5 min intervals) or speed work (500m intervals) so I will need to alter those as time progresses too.

Thanks all for the advice.

Two weeks to go until loch ness marathon. Haven't run in two weeks due to injury. Quite worried now. Doing everything possible to fix it, and cardio every day in the gym, but no idea what's going to happen on the day. cries

If you're still injured now you should be seriously considering not running. Coughing up for physio may be helpful?

But if you do run, I shall be watching as the better half is running it. I shall shout some abuse if you give me identifying information and a target time (assuming the timings work out).

I'm starting to wonder. Been going to the physio for the last week- told I can run after 6 pain-free days. This is day three, so we'll see on Monday...

Identifying me will probably be easy. I'll be right at the back, limping, and swearing.

each time i go for a run (tarmac, treadmill, grass) i get severe knee pain in my right knee a few hours afterwards, to the point where both walking and riding are impossible,

Could it be the shoes? could i have a terrible running style? or perhaps one to talk to the Dr about?

Physio, asap.

Are some shoes faster than others or is that marketing bollocks?

Absolutely - in mean, racing flats vs. road running shoes. It's mostly weight but also flexibility.

Obviously don't drink the Super-Magic-Mesh-Gel-Turbo-Mercury-Lyte-Propulsion(tm)(R) koolaid.

I just popped into the Asics shop on the way home and noticed that the shoes I run in most (GT-2000's) were in their "run long" display, and that there was another display for "run fast".

I fancy getting my 5k time below 20 minutes at the Dulwich Parkrun, and if I can purchase 30 seconds for £105 that sounds like a bargain.

Lighter shoes felt like they made a big difference to my speed. I went from gt 2000 to asics fast noosa. I can't quantify the difference was, but I never ran under 20 minutes in gt 2000 at parkrun and I have never run over in fast noosa.

Thanks for that, do you take the same size in both?

Yes

To the Internet!

These ones? http://www.wiggle.co.uk/asics-gel-noosa-fast-2-shoes-limited-edition/

Is everybody wearing sabatons? Hugely heavy and unweildy boots might slow you down, but otherwise it is just about what best fits your running style; most people could become faster by changing their style, some by changing the shoe. Some people will be faster with no shoes at all. Manufacturers who label one running shoe as faster than another are lying.