Running

Have you checked Bike24.com? They've got some 233s in stock with 30% off in various sizes and hideous colourways...
https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;menu=1001,1004;product=57453
https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;menu=1001,1004;product=57450

...and speaking of Inov-8: Has anyone seen the old Trailroc 150 (the turquise one) in a size 13 anywhere?

I'm still deeply traumatised by the experience :(

Has this been posted yet?
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/distance-running-may-be-an-evolutionary-signal-for-desirable-male-genes

Last long run today before London, best run I've had for a while so pretty happy :) I might have actually timed this just right for once :)

3:16:36 at the brighton marathon today.

Went to brighton with the intention of running 7:30 miles, got talked into following the 3:15 pacer and despite my disasterous out last long run things were going pretty well, had two of my training buddies with me, plenty of interesting people to chat to and fantastic weather for my Brighton sightseeing tour.

Miles 1-6 were pretty chilled, a bit of banter and lots of support was great, heading out of town gave us ur first real challenge we got a bit ahead of our pacer (by about 200m) but there was another one about 50 ahead so we made an effort to catch that group so we had some shelter, things continued to feel good as we went through half way and up to about 18 miles.

At this point my iPod decided it didn't want to work any more but it was no great disaster, and we carried on ticking off the miles by which point I was a little concerned I felt too good and all would come crumblng down around me, but the miles kept ticking along until mile 21, a tight left turn knocked my momentum and it became a bit of a battle to keep up with the pacer and I tried to dig in and keep them in sight for just one more mile, unfortunately at 22 there was another sharp turn and a tiny but very steep ramp and the elastic snapped.

All I could do was just focus on form, remembering that I had 45 minutes to run 4 miles and still get a PB. The next two miles were hard physically, but not too bad mentally, I got to 24 and a bit,saw my support crew and my last running buddy went past, whichw as a bit frustrating, but once we returned to the main road I decided enough was enough and it was time to see what I had left in the tank, and encouraged myself to push with a few choice words. This worked and opening up my gait actually really helped I had my fastest I'm in the last two and caught one and nearly caught the other.

I ended up missing my target by 6 seconds, which given it meant nothing in itself, and I'm actually training for triathlons I'm pretty chuffed!

"things continued to feel good as we went through half way and up to about 18 miles"

Sounds like a testament to good training and pacing. Excellent work, especially the final push.

A quick reminder to anyone preparing for VMLM, Runner's World have published the pacers' list so you can see my ugly mug to look out for. (Green, "3:00" pace but obviously this means "sub-3" as I don't think anyone is targeting 3:00:xx)
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/pacing/

oooh... I may look you out. 2:59:59 was the target I set myself when I entered. Only problem is that I've not done anything in training that suggests to me that I might be able to hold that kind of pace. Unfortunately my coach seems to have gone AWOL so don't have much reassurance right now either. I may need some encouragement!

oops, I think I'm in the red zone though.

Withdrawn form London :( Still unable to run, still randomly get pains, still rubbish.

wow, kudos for even considering a sub 3 a go, do you think you've put enough run miles in to do this, and do your recent VDOT tests suggest its clost if you put them in the Attackpoint predictor, and finally what the downside if you try, blow up and end up limping over the line in ~4 hours...?

If the answers are all correct then go for it, if not then revise the target slightly and go for that. I only decided on my target on the Tuesday before the marathon...

booo, are you still able to defer for next year?

In other news I think I might those the big toenail on my left foot, its bruised at the end towards the foot, and has been aching all day - do I put a hot needle through the nail or not

Back training tonight, with a swim set and then on the bike Tuesday, swim Wednesday and then Brick on Thursday - my coach has assures me that yesterday was not a race but was supported training...

love it!

You'll have a lot more sub-3 aspirants for company off Red start, although I'd definitely be careful if it's marginal/guesswork as to whether you're in the right shape for it. Any recent race times or quality target pace sessions to go off?

Yeah I can defer, just have to wait for the email to come through in June and follow the instruction (and pay the entry fee again). I don't mind missing the event that much, but I am frustrated I haven't run properly since November!

do I put a hot needle through the nail or not

Do it.

Videos, pls.

I'm on the blue start as I got a place through the club, I was having a bit of a wobble about what to aim for in London. I had decided to go for sub 3:10 as training has been a bit hit and miss.

I think I'm going to go for sub 3 after yesterday's run though, it was pretty windy yesterday and I ran 18 miles most of it at 7:05 pace and felt comfortable the whole way. So I think I've got to go for it, I've never run well in London so there's got to be a first time :)

do you think you've put enough run miles in to do this,

Not sure. According to TP, I've run 650km (68hrs) in the last 180days... that works out at only about 25km/week which is very low. However, my training has been predominantly about IMWales, and my coach's strategy has deliberately avoided long runs (nothing over 21k) in favour of gaining cardio vascular endurance on the bike (I've averaged about 9hrs/week including S/B/R and weights). The majority of my runs have been either c.12-15km fartlek sessions or recovery pace.

Do your recent VDOT tests suggest its clost if you put them in the Attackpoint predictor,

Not sure. My Vdot has remained essentially the same over the 3 tests I've done since January (2mile/3.3km test - Jan = 11:50, Feb = 11:52, Apr = 11:50). This gives me a VDOT of 53 and thus a 'predicted' marathon time of 3:01:35 (4:18/km pace). That's not far off a sub 3hr marathon which is encouraging, but I'm not sure how accurately you can predict marathon times from a 3.2km test, especially when I haven't done any long runs. I certainly haven't held 4:18 pace for a sustained period during training, and it sounds like an incredibly daunting prospect. That said, I'm not sure I would expect to either since my VDOT tests were all calculated on road, but 99% of my training is off road. Possibly my best run recently was a 21km effort where I held 5:00/km over a slightly lumpy, off-road course with mixed terrain, but during that run I was aiming to hold 'easy pace', it's just that I probably had to work a little bit harder to hold that pace given the terrain. Still felt pretty comfortable though..

and finally what the downside if you try, blow up and end up limping over the line in ~4 hours...?

I'd like for that not to happen. I got my slot on the basis of being selected for my university cross country club and as such my run will count as part of the BUCS competition, and also the Oxford Vs Cambridge match. In the case of the latter, only the top 3 runners from each club count and so I'm unlikely to be a factor but still... Also, the fact that I was actively selected means that other runners failed to get a slot at my expense and so I'd like to justify my selection with a good run.

All these should be answered by my coach, but yeah... AWOL.

Volume wise you aren't far off what I had done ytd by the time I did brighton (according to strava and bearing in mind that cycling and swimming do factor into the picture here) and your previous marathon best is better than I achieved, vdot suggests close is possible but then my 3k vdot times suggest I should be able to do a 2:50 (which based on yesterday I think is more possible but if definitely need specific run training to get me there) and I can't imagine any runner begrudging a valiant but failed sub 3 hour attempt for very long!

What I'm saying is give it a go, but only if in your heart of hearts your going to have the conviction to dig REALLY deep when I gets hard!

Congratulations. great effort.

bet you can't wait to continue training this week...

thanks, i'm actually really looking forward to it, its been a long hard winter and getting to see a glimpse of the fruits of the hard work is awesomely motivational!

just spent an hour setting my bike up for a trip outside for my 6am session tomorrow!

Fucking inov-8... I now have 3 pairs of f-lite 195s in front of me: my old pair, and 2 new pairs in standard and precision fit. All in size 9 (eu43).

Standard and precision are near identical (although standard does indeed feel wider) but both are c.10mm shorter than the original, and both measure about 5mm narrower.

All I want is a new pair of the same shoe. I've now put almost £400 on my credit card and still have nothing I can run in.

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that sucks....

in foot related news the blood blister under my toe nail spread to the front of the nail last night so I no hot paper clips were necessary I just pushed a sterilised needle under the nail and unleashed hell! Feels much better now although a little numb..

Note to self: Never read the running thread during your lunch break