Running

^ Oof, tomorrow will be fun for you for sure!

XC done with 5k either side to get to & from venue.

Not as well paced as last one, but still had strong last lap catching and passing many I'd let go early on.

Straight back to work had to shower on arrival then mop staff shower area I'd filthied it up that bad.

Before and after pics, spikes may have been marginal better but xtalon were good for most part.

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Snap. I had the XTalon 190 on today and definitely the right choice. Not only for the stony paths but I've also worked out that as a heel striker they're more stable for me than spikes on muddy grass when there's a camber, since there's more purchase at the heel. I also think I feel more confident hurtling downhill when it's slippery underfoot. (Still shit downhill, mind.)

Good luck today @PhilPub i'm about to go for a long slow run, not sure my legs could take a race.

That picture is brilliant @rhb, ours wasn't that muddy.

I'm a big fan of Farthing Downs, it's a proper cross country course with a bit of everything, gentle grassy ascent, slightly off camber grass, rocky and rooty descents, fast grass slopes, big puddles, a grassy valley floor, chalky climb, muddy flat and sharp turns into the longest finish funnel I have seen outside Bromley parkrun.

I nearly went over when heel striking hard on some of the grassier, muddier sections. Technique, what technique.

Course sounds ideal, Boggart hole has bits of all but mostly mud.

I ran the steep drop like I was in spikes first time and slowed cos of that. Next lap dug in my heels much easier.

Legs got itchy last night. Some shrub scratches turned out to be 16 horsefly bites. Very hot & itchy now, not much sleep & rash appearing belly and face = not fun.

Trip to chemists today I think. 2/2 for random xc medical troubles thus season!

Epsom 10 went pretty well and I'm now pleasantly tired-but-not-shattered with 42 miles on the bike to get there and back. Good endurance block. 57:24 on the Garmin, and 3rd overall. Winner was Scott Overall (!) in 52:40-something. Despite a slight downhill first mile in 5:16 it wasn't long before Overall disappeared out of sight with one other guy. First half was hilly, second half flat/undulating, so splits were all over the place, yet I was within half a minute of my Maidenhead 10 time in the Spring, which is flat, so very pleased with that. And I won £50 hard cash! :-)

Good work, especially with the added commute getting there!

Savage fast!

Awesome! Getting paid to do one of your hobbies must be satisfying.

12 slowish miles yesterday to break in the new race shoes before the Wimborne 10 next Sunday - One of my favourite races.

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Dusted off the running shoes today for a little 5k, this time round I plan to run a little differently.

I plan to concentrate on speed rather than distance, so I won't run over the 10k mark, mostly 5k runs and just focus on getting my time down.

Does anyone else on here train this way? I used to run 10k+ every 2 or so days, with the occasional half marathon, but I find it exceedingly boring.

did the ballbster duathlon on Saturday, and during the second run, I really struggled to pick up my pace after the initial freezing numb feet wore off, I just couldn't go any faster, which is not something I've experienced before.

I (along with everyone else) was very cold after the bike, but going up box hill on the final run my heart rate increased from mid 150s up to mid 160s but then despite trying harder I wasn't going any faster and heart rate wasn't rising either, but when I had to sprint to avoid getting overtaken in the last 400m it went up no problem.

I know some of this is fatigue, but if anyone else has experienced this...?

^^ have done in past. Conventional wisdom is lots of steady miles edit with specific intensive work /edit will give you more sustainable and long term better gains.

^ only got to that stage when running tired cos pacing wrong meself. Probably cold related though given your description though.

^^ I had similar toward the end of the midnight man middle distance tri. It starts at 6pm so was about 10pm, long day, fading light and not enough training done to comfortably do the half marathon at the end. Couldn't get the pace or the HR up, just felt pretty empty.

hello running thread.
someone else is attempting the Bob Graham round record soon, sure youll see it around.
there was a 'get into' Fell Running puff piece featuring Pippa Middleton in the waitrose free mag last weekend. (alright alright I go there for quality oats you fuckers)
anyway, the 'Try it out' list inculded the Edale Skyline race,
yeah, good shout 'trose -piece of piss that race
bye

Guessing that's planning for a winter BG round.

I wonder what a couch to Skyline training plan looks like 😂

^^ you mean Rocky Fleetfoot @_Leon?

My clubmate is considering a BGR might see if I can join one or two recce runs.

In other news, bites replaced by a headcold, and a list has been published:

http://escapefrommeriden.co.uk/starters-list/

yeah..
If hes a mate people need all the backup they can get, go up for a weekend and enjoy.
thats looks quality, er, except for the fact that you only get a certificate for a marathon...
hope they arent charging you much for the privelige of a night nav and a day on your feet

I reckon a determined couch potato could probably get up to being able to finish the Skyline on a 6 month plan. Not going to trouble the podium by any stretch, that would take a couple of years.

Really annoyed because I wanted to do the Skyline this year but it clashes with another race I've already committed to. Might sack off that race next year if they end up on the same weekend. Going to stick in an entry for the Mickleden Straddle and then think about some longer races in April and May.

i'll come and assist some BGR recce runs!!!

All goes well it'll cost < 50p per mile entry plus same for travel & food total.

If it goes sh1t it could be pricier per mile than the most big city 10k's.

Cool will let you know if owt develops.

Count me in for BGR assistance too please

Being as you've had the bottle to enter, I doubt it will be anywhere near the 10k price comparison 😀

I'll be watching Alan Cormack, who's one of the Scottish ultra dafties. I finished my second half marathon at the same time as him and we were both entered into a marathon, which was my first one. Ran the whole way with him and thats probably the reason I gave ultras a bash.

Who from the LFGSS are we watching on the trackers?

Nice one, again depends if clubmate goes ahead with it but will be in touch if so.

Could be closer to 10k than I'd like as my headcold isn't shifting. All symptoms are above neck so ok to start still. Kinda relieved I'll pass lots of mainline stations though.

Torrential hail/sleet here. Warm Sun forecast for Meriden tonight though, yeah?

Good luck to Alan. Just myself & @Spares from here I think? I'm #126.

Colds suck 😢 makes the same effort feel so much more demanding. I ran the Orkney marathon in a similar time to a few comparable runs . Strava suffer score is normally 380-400 but a streaming cold saw my HR around 10bpm higher than usual and suffer score blown away at 607 and feeling shit for about 10 days after.

All the best to yourself and @Spares look after yourselves and keep moving 😁