Running

Salomon Pulse belt is great - phone, wallet, keys, and 500ml squeezy flask all fit very easily.

XL?

@Stonehedge I will definitely take some time off, but I'm off to the Tibetan plateau in August and I'm keen to do some runs out there.

That sounds epic. Hopefully you'll have a chance to rest for as long as possible before you get there to make the most of it.

It's elasticated, so a de facto girdle.

How do you find the 945? (when you have the cable and Garmin aren't been held ransom)

It’s been great - the music streaming thing is brilliant, to be able to just run with headphones and a watch is lovely - especially when hot/away. All the other stuff works well and it does swimming, cycling etc well. It’s also not massive (think the Fenix is bigger)

Yea the Fenix is a bit of a unit alright. I had looked at the Fenix 5 as you can get a few bob off at the moment but the 945 looks like the ticket and the no phone/headphone is really appealing. Nice, but pricey!

Done

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@Tenderloin let me know your charity.

Stephen Lawrence - you’re too kind (also I haven’t finished it yet!). 13km in the bag today. Tomorrow I think I’m going to try and break up into three runs; 7, 12, 10. Friday plan is a 10km before work and then as I have a half day to a HM after lunch

Have you seen the forecast for Fridy afternoon? Maybe have an early start for a morning half?

Yeah I know but I have a packed morning schedule and will struggle to get more than a 10km in. If I have to I can break it up and d0 10-15km at lunch and breeze a cheeky 6km before dinner and BEERS!!!

You'll smash it. Good luck!

Chapeau Joe, I thought you were mad attempting this off the back of an injury but I’ve been nothing but impressed. Same for you @hats, you’re both fucking insane.

^ +1 impressive by both.

In other news... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2020/07/30/female-runners-left-starting-gun-sport-grapples-coronavirus/

20km after a long day of work and it was pretty hot out - that was the run I’d probably expected to come sooner, it was a total battle. My legs just didn’t want to move and whilst there was no specific pain it felt very much like an empty tank. I didn’t realise until I got in that I’d skipped lunch and only eaten half a banana and a croissant all day!! That really won’t have helped 😂. I’ve had a nice relaxing evening - featuring a cartmel sticky toffee pudding and custard, highly nutritious race fuel. I’ve decided that @Stonehedge is probably right, so going to get up and do 20km before work and split the remaining 11km into two. Thanks to @hats for the stupid idea, it’s been a good challenge and nice to keep an eye on your progress all the way over in China. And thanks for the various +1s and Strava Kudos - which have helped keep me going. Hopefully by the time most people read this I’ll have finished my morning run and only have 11km to go 😀

Good luck with the final day! You've got this!!

Julyathon, complete.
Total km: 496km
Total run: 334km (95km on a treadmill)
Total walked: 158km
Temperature: day 33+ ("feels like" 40+, LOL), night 28, humidity at best 80% (usually 90%+), longest plum rain season in recorded history
Number of pocari sweats consumed: unimaginable

In January and February combined I ran a total of 65km, thanks to a stress fracture, sprained ankle, being stranded in the UK, being ill, etc. Since I came back to China at the end of Feb I've run 30-40km per week, sprained my ankle again and developed some really disordered eating habits, so to complete this is quite surprising to me.

I've learnt that it's difficult to run well on a diet of mango and yoghurt, that running at midday in summer is stupid, that sleep is important, and that a plan is only good if you actually stick to it. I've also learnt that I can run on a treadmill almost indefinitely if I have enough TV shows to watch, which I'm not sure says great things about me.

I'm looking forward to August and not having to run 3 times in one day, doing some better quality runs, having more time to ride my bike and going on holiday! Thanks everyone for the support :)

You're both amazing. Now rest!

Well done both.

Nice works @hats - from your write up, I think I’m only jealous of your easy access to Pocari Sweat!

20km in the bag this morning - started to get hot towards the end (ffs). Will probably save the final 11km for early evening when it will be a little cooler.

Good work Joe. You're in touching distance now.

Today marks the end of a six month running program for me. Timed to finish today for ten days of mountaineering starting on Monday.

Was running 48 miles per month in Feb, comfortably ran 80 this month. Was plodding 11 minute miles in Feb. Comfortably running 6 miles of 9 minute miles this month. Shorter runs have gone from 10min/mi to faster than 8min/mi. I've really upped hill sessions too.

I've lost 14kg of fat in the last 18 months.

The main reason I've pushed myself to do this is because I was starting to reach limits of what I could achieve in the mountains simply because I was so heavy. In alpine climbing it's a safety issue if you can't get across the crevasses or descents before daily melt starts to happen. 15 hour days weren't the problem, not covering enough ground in those 15 hours was.

Time to see if any if this has paid off!

The single best thing about this is that it was brutal for the first few months but I've started to enjoy my running again!

That's awesome Dan - the enjoyment you can get from running is so good, glad to hear you broke through the barrier and reached that plain of enjoyment :) it's also an excellent fat burning tool as you say. I really hope that one of the few good things to come out of this pandemic will be that more people have developed an enjoyment for running. Whilst most people will get injured at some point I'm sure that the long term good it has on peoples health would be a benefit.

Hope the mountaineering goes well next week!

Some serious #rep needs to be allocated to @hats @Tenderloin and @Stonehedge this morning. Top running! 5k in the heat this morning for me was enough but...

Total km: 496km
Temperature: day 33+ ("feels like" 40+, LOL), night 28, humidity at best 80% (usually 90%+), longest plum rain season in recorded history

...is just so impressive!

Flattered, I really am. But even though I've achieved something tough for me I haven't required the mental toughness and determination that those guys have needed. Great to hit my goal but Im in awe of those guys.

First proper hill run in many moons today, went round the Glen Lyon Horseshoe - about 12 miles and 4200ft. It comes as no surprise that sitting around lots over summer compared to lots of racing in the Lake District has left me rather out of shape for this sort of thing. Slow as I was, 3hrs ish, felt good to be plodding around the hills again!

Time for a swim in a river.