Running

Longest run of this marathon training block completed, 42k with 2x5k at marathon pace the rest was easy paced . Running time 3:29:59, elapsed time about 3 mins longer with a hydration pack leak and a wee along the way.

Bit of a strange one as the focus so far this year is getting back in shape and down to something resembling race weight so the original target for Brighton was 3:30 but after running a 1:24 half I revised that down to 3:10, training indicates I’m closer to 3 but trying to keep the pressure low and leave me ready to build for London later in the year where I’m hoping for 2:50.

Right Achilles is pretty tight this morning but otherwise fine, on more week of training and then the taper starts!

John Kelly report on Barkley
https://randomforestrunner.com/2022/03/2022-barkley-marathons/

Does anyone use fly/ease Nike?

If so are they gimmicky? Am I better off sticking with laces?

Some free UK9.5 / EU44 racing flats (not mine)
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/373117/

Wainwrights attempt incoming:

https://live.opentracking.co.uk/jgwainwrights22/

John Kelly having a go later in year too iirc.

^ 'ti's on.

Good luck to any mcr marathoners here. If I see an lfgss cap in the crowds I'll heckle from the roadside.

I’m driving up to Suffolk (Bury St Eds) from SW London this afternoon (M11, A11,A14). Does anyone know of any nice trails to stop at en route that would be good for me to run and the kids to cycle for 5+ miles?

Thanks

Kiprun (decathlon brand) carbon race shoe - being released end of June and expected €150 price tag

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There's an old railway line trail which runs from Sudbury, Suffolk to the edge of Long Melford which would be quite good.

Edit : You're using the A14 to Bury so my suggestion would be out of your way

MiniGB took almost 4 minutes off her parkrun PB yesterday. Doing "cross country"[1] at school is really helping with her pacing. First parkrun for ages for her so we just planned on taking it easy and having walking breaks when required but kept it to just 30 seconds walking every 10 minutes.

Now I can help her knock more time off by pacing her to knock ~30 seconds off each time. It helps that she doesn't have cricket on a Saturday afternoon now (although she is still doing football Friday night, which doesn't help Saturday morning legs, and her cricket starts up on a Sunday from May.)

1. Not really cross country as it's all on roads and pavements but it does involve a ~20% hill. No mud though.
   

Good atmosphere today, better than London I reckon. Got sub 4 and happy with it.

Got sub 4 and happy with it.

Nice one. Was a decent day for it. I covered 12 miles spectating. Posted some ropey timelapses of the day onto my @5into15 twitter account too.

Like them!

Thanks, would have been a good option, could have taken the scenic route! As it was I massively underestimated how long it would take to leave the house with two kids in tow, only got to Bury at 8:30 and now stuck on A14 going nowhere on the way back to London…

Anyone know a good option for women's running kit? Was thinking of getting something from Iffley Road for my sister's birthday but surprised to find they only do men's. After good quality and ideally UK made etc

Sweaty Betty. Lululemon.

(Not sure about the UK made bit though, they're expensive enough that they should be.)

Haha cheers

Not sure they're made in UK but I think they're pretty well made.

Also nicely made women's running kit options are even more sparse than mens

I know ON Running is frowned on generally but I like their kit and their Weather Vest is very popular and useful. All their stuff is expensive but they stand by it so any problem and you get a refund.

They are not UK based.

ON running kit is good - I also have that vest :)

I think everyone should :)

Of course it might not be needed for the next 5 months!

Offering the following here:

Two pairs of Nike vaporfly size 12 one pink and one blue/green- well used (300km+) but maybe you wanna give them a try. £free

Black and white Nike air zoom Tempo next% - size 12 never got on with these, 100km use. £50

Orange Nike Alphafly size 12 - I love the vaporfly but these are too narrow, 52km use. £100

Will take some pics in a bit

sciatica and extreme calf muscle tightness

I wondered if anyone had experience of this, and what they had done to remedy it. I have always had tight calves after hard runs, due to not building up slowly enough and suddenly going on 10+ mile cross country runs, then needing 3-4 days to recover. However I was always fine on more sensible shorter efforts up to 5 miles, and longer runs were fine when I was well conditioned.

However, after 9 months of sciatica, my calves get very tight and painful after just a few miles. I can't build up condition like I used to, in fact my calves seem to cope with fewer and fewer miles before siezing up. Anything over 3-4 miles with a couple of hard hills leaves me needing 3-4 days to recover.

The sciatica has now nearly healed, but while it was bad, both calves lost alot of strength due to nerve obstruction. I built the strength back up and can now do 20 single leg calf raises each side, which my physio says is a good level of strength to have and weakness shouldn't be the problem.

I run on my toes, and when I switch to landing on my heels the calf pain massively reduces. However the harder impacts of heel landings are bad for the lower back injury I'm trying to heal. So I mix it up re. Landings.

I'm desperate to build back to the long runs I used to do, without the pain and long recovery times. Can't really ride the bike now.

Hi - short answer is yes, I had (fingers crossed with the past tense) calf issues linked to sciatica. It took me many years to get on top of it, going through a constant build and injury cycle. I've a a number of things that together has worked for me - I cant really assigned a relative importance, only that, doing this, and continuing to do it, means that I dont get issues.

Also, normal for me is 5 times a week which would be a long run of 10 miles (8min/mile pace), one interval session (5 x 1000m @6:30mins, or maybe 800m up at Parliment hill), a 6 mile and a couple of 5kms. So, no 2:45 marathons or 50 miles ultra here!

1. Stretch hamstings and lower back , should be every day, but 4-5 times a week sufficient. If I cant touch my toes, I dont run. Stretching comprises a range of exercises, prob takes me 15 mins - nothing out the ordinary but is all about back mobility, hams, flexers, and the like.

2. Gym once a week for core stuff - again nothing surprising - unweighted squats, single leg stuff, planks, glutes, etc. If I've had a break then do this 2-3 times a week for a few weeks to get back up to a reasonable level

3. Wear barefoot shoes for day to day use (not running) - currently have these for general use for example.

4. Once a week short run in barefoot shoes - limit it to 5km max - and only when everything else is good

5. When coming back from injury or a break, start ridiculously slowly and build each week. Although this is number 5 its probably the most important. A first week is run/ walk 30s / 30s x 5, 2 minute break and then do all that 5 times. Increase the runs until happy to run 2km non-stop, then 3km, then 5km - all that over 4weeks. It feels totally ridiculous, but i know that if I go out and run 6 miles, then 8 then 10, I'll be fine for a month and then injured again.

6. Single leg bent knee calf raises - need to be able to do 3 x 30 minimum on each side. I think the sciatica lower the nerve response or something, so I get a weak calf on my left side very quickly, if I get a stiff back. Important to keep on top of that

And I can recommend this chap: https://www.central-health.com/ourpeople/kieran-odea/ to help with the structured running plan to get back up to speed and distance in a sensible fashion

Clearly no idea if any of this is relevant to your case though!