Running

Sounds sensible alright. Hoping I can slot back into the plan early next week

Also tend to run fasted in the mornings up to 25k.
Occasionally I take a bottle of electrolyte with me just to keep fresh and it does help you keep the pace steady.

On marathons and up, I eat dried dates and nothing else 😂
Two every 10k and plenty of liquids. They’re pretty perfect but potential for sticky mess all over your house keys if they share a pocket.

Anyone using Garmin hrm pro / pro plus? GPS on my watch (Fenix 6S) seems to be pretty easily disturbed e.g. by trees even on just one side, and momentary pace ends up being off quite frequently. So I'm wondering how well does pace from the strap work together with GPS tracking on the watch, or is it more like one or the other for the entire workout?

Not sure about how good it is as a cadence sensor but something like a stryd pod (or anything on the actual foot) will probably be better at measuring pace.

I guess apart from any overall impressions, one specific thing I was curious about was whether the garmin strap (or pod for that matter) would automatically fill in when GPS is struggling. But having a separate data field for instantaneous pod pace + normal GPS track for auto laps / whole run would be fine. Strap would be convenient because I anyway wear a hrm, but if pace accuracy from chest strap is bound to be poor then it's probably not worth it.

Does anyone in here have a Garmin Instinct 2S and have a different strap fitted? Mine came with one so small I can barely do it up. Want to get a decent replacement, but have had a couple of duff ones from eBay that didn't actually fit.

My Chris ward Tide strap fits. It's extremely comfy and can be cleaned easy. Plus not silicone! Could be worth a look. Kinda pricey though.

Orion Harriers 1st Ultra (50m) and Ultra Lite option on 16th September -
https://www.orionharriers.com/ultra-2023/

Can anyone recommend a calculator to help work out training paces or zones based on a known tested time
Eg if I can do a 5km in 22mins what would be tempo, easy, vo2, 10km etc pace be for training reps? I had a bit of a guess based on a predicted 10km time and I’m not sure I’m right!

Not sure if this is just what your asking but VDOT calc gives the following for 22 minute 5km
https://vdoto2.com/

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edit I used to use a race/training pace calculator that was available on McMillan Running but looks like you need to sign up now. If you can access it, I found it really useful.

Yes! That works perfectly, thanks.

Any good websites recommended for fenix 6 watch strap replacement please?

I know @Airhead mentioned fuel the other week but I’ve been looking for something to take with work to eat before a hard lunch session or for the Sunday long run. I really like the Maurten bars but they are ££ and the taste is so-so. I’ve tried some of the chocolate Styrkr bars - had one on Sunday and one today. Taste good, 50g of carbs and no issues digestion issues. Would recommend

Adios pro evo1 looks bonkers. 183 grams is unbelievable. I know the price is insane but it’s probably a loss leader to get around the world athletics rule that a competition shoe needs to be available to the public. They probably don’t even want to be selling them at all given they only last one race but maybe this will shake things up with the marathon record in Berlin.
Imagine how nuts it would be if one (or more!) of their runners got under 2 hours in one event.

My immediate thought was the sustainability angle but that kind of goes out the window if this is just to break records.

I’ll give it a month before I see someone in them at a Parkrun

More mid mararthon training woes. Head is melted so seeing what the hive mind thinks! Got a cold with a phelgmy chest a couple of weeks ago, no covid or anything more serious. Took a few days off and then got back to it. Had be going ok bit slower, heart rate a little higher but presumed I was just still not 100%. Feeling fine the past couple of days but went I got for a run my heart rate jumps straight up. Around 10bpm higher then it should be. My warm up is like steady running heart rate wise. Resting hard rate is fine, walking around ok and did an hour of zwift yesterday really easy (1.5/kg) and my heart rate never left zone 1.

Right there with you. Had covid 6 weeks ago which was mostly ok but with some elevated HR for a couple weeks after but have had a tickley cough this week (have a kid in nursery so this is just life) which has made training a bit of a slog.
Couple of weeks ago also had weirdly achy leg tendons and knees, and awful shin splints but that seems to have passed - probably another weird viral thing.

My approach is to just rest as needed and mainly focus on easy mileage/MAF. Not thinking of speedwork just yet. In fact I’ll probably be very controlled with any hard efforts until the end of October when the marathon is, with two interval sessions between now and then.

Basically, don’t be afraid to go slower than you’d like. In fact it’s better.

Belated but I really rate the Skratch labs chews. Not used them for running specifically but they are a great energy source, and I like that Skratch try to minimise the random added junk that most sports supplements have

https://xmiles.co.uk/collections/skratch-labs/products/skratch-labs-sport-energy-chews-50g

Do those things feel harder than normal or is it just what you’re taking from HR? I wouldn’t obsess with what the HR is coming in at if it feels ok. Sounds a bit like you’re getting in your own head.

Small fell relay race locally yesterday, I was down for leg 3 in the B team.

Arrived 45mins ahead of leg 1 setting off and ate sandwich on way up hill to register.

Some no shows, so promoted to leg 1 in hope folks arrive later... half mile / 10 min warmup then off we went, felt very sluggish but found a place in the pack, hr was through the roof but it's shorter than patkrun so no worries. The course was basically up up up down up down down down but I struggled to find lines on the rockier downs so lost a few places.

Mid pack finish and went to get ready for a bit of spectating. Stung by wasp. Folks clearly likely not turning up, so agreed to be ready do leg 4. Two slices of maltloaf & a swig of coffee then off I went again about 55mins after I'd first finished.

So much easier, knowing the route the up up up was over very quick then I knew which downs I could run versus tip-toe. Got back 90s quicker than leg 1 which was way more than I'd hoped for. A good day.

The event is usually mixed Road & Fell legs but the council refused use of the road loop, the 4 x fell format worked great too I thought.

I honestly feel like staying healthy is the hardest part of marathon training. Especially since all the training revolves around back to school the kids bring home all sorts of shite this time if year!

That's definitely apart of it. I overly rely on HR and obbsses about it a little. Which stresses me out!

I did my long run today with the HR screen off and it defo helped. 1st hr felt tough, 2nd was easier and the 3rd was marathon pace which actually felt really good. I think there's defo some residue sickness there but my body seems to get over it after awhile

Marathon training is hard!

The miles alone are tough, then you add life on top with the challenges eating/sleeping/parenting/work/travel etc

Good to know it’s not just me then!
Think I’ll probably rein it in a bit with weekly mileage - I’m very happy ticking over on 60-70km/week.

My last solo TT attempt was on less volume and in shit weather and ended up doing 3:06 so fingers crossed.