Running

Was stopped and told off this morning by the Somali army. Apparently my running style was too damn sexy and driving their ladyfolk wild.

It seems that bright red skintight Lycra is not seen as acceptable running attire on their holy day. No wonder Mo Farah moved to Hounslow.

I'm sure you'd drive the ladyfolk wild just as much in Hounslow KL.

Hatbeard, how are you and Tiswas getting on with your running webbing/bag/things?

I ran into work the other day and basically reached meltdown due to the top I was wearing- main reason for which was that it had pockets in it.

So, a "keys/wallet/phone/etc" type thing might be just what is needed, if you approve of yours?

The Salomon Hydro 12 is massive overkill for keys / wallet / phone - I just use a belty thing for that. And never use it anyway - because phones & running >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For commuting, it's fucking amazeballs - It just about fits a change of clothes (with clever folding) and you barely notice it once you are running with it - Compared with my big old camelbak thing that I used previously, that chaffed and rubbed and generally got on my wick.

Running into work I need to carry two phones, sadly.

I'll have a look at the Hydro 12, did you establish the most affordable place on the Internets to make purchase?

http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com/Salomon-Advanced-Skin-LAB-HYDRO-12-SET-Backpack-p/sallabhydro12set.htm

It comes with a safety blanket! I'm 100% sold.

http://www.centurionrunning.com/store/ Has the Salomon fractionally cheaper too and Centurion are a great small race organiser who could do with every bit of support they can.

I don't know how much volume you want to carry but something more minimal like these could be a good bet too:
http://www.ultimatedirection.com/p-604-jurek-essential.aspx?category=water-belts
http://www.ultimatedirection.com/p-611-meow.aspx?category=water-belts

this one that I have is perfect for just carrying essentials and either a pac-lite jacket or the 1.5l bladder.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/salomon-skin-pro-3-set/rp-prod87268

I was about to post and say I plan on getting the skin lab advanced 5 instead as I like having water on my runs but not always a full bladder (both kinds) and that one has 2 soft flasks on the front instead but while looking for a link for it I just saw wiggle have it at 33% off so just went and ordered it.

if you don't need a hydration bladder (i'm keeping that) I'll do you a good price (£35) on the one I linked up top next week.

I'm really enjoying Parkrun at the moment. Took approx 50 seconds off my best on that course, mainly due to starting at the front not the back.

I've been trying out a fancy heart monitor thing for work - taken a week to get a base reading and now it's telling me to seek medical advice immediately. Stupid bloody thing has put the wind up me. I'm not using it anymore.

I'm really enjoying Parkrun at the moment. Took approx 50 seconds off my best on that course, mainly due to starting at the front not the back.

which one? problem with parkrun is that they vary so wildly according to course.

gentle long run along the Thames this morning. I chickened out of the faster miles at the end.

I've been trying out a fancy heart monitor thing for work - taken a week to get a base reading and now it's telling me to seek medical advice immediately. Stupid bloody thing has put the wind up me. I'm not using it anymore.

Are you sitting there with a heart rate of 230?

which one? problem with parkrun is that they vary so wildly according to course.

gentle long run along the Thames this morning. I chickened out of the faster miles at the end.

Ashton Court, so its a rather brutal straight up a hill for 1.5 miles, turn round and run down again. 100 metres of climbing so never going to be a pb course. It's nice to have a weekly blast though.

Last event of wessex night league for the winter season. 52 mins.
weeps its summer again
One more proper 5k to go of winter racing on two feet

Ran burgess parkrun for the first time this morning.
Nice flat course with various turns and two laps of lake meaning a risk of getting lapped keeps you on your toes.

I felt in good form at the start but by the second lap I wondered if I was gonna finish, was only lapped by the winner in the end.

Again my time is much slower than at hilly brockwell park - I hate the flat.

Are you sitting there with a heart rate of 230?

No, it's fancier than that. Billed as a home ECG with simple-to-read analytics. To be fair I was having a stressful week and felt pretty rotten. Ran 15 miles today. Still feel a little wobbly, chest wise.

Soooo my right foot goes numb whenever I try to run quickly. Quickly for me anyway. 8.5/mi is fine, both of my feet feel absolutely fine. However if I am between 7-8/mi my right foot goes completely numb, very quickly. This happens when I run on trails, or pavement with both neutral and supportive shoes. I'm sure it has something to do with my leg length discrepancy, my right leg is shorter than my left, so I imagine it strikes the ground a bit harder than my left. Is there anything I can do about this?

See a podiatrist about getting some orthotics. I've used this one in Highgate since moving to London. He's old school, so plaster casts rather than laser scans but I've been very happy with the service. Cost might scare you, but seriously worth it in the long term.

My knees were pretty fucked about ten years ago until someone gave me the same advice, was just about managing to play football but needed knee supports. Running was absolutely out of the question. Got my first ones from Scholl where they diagnosed a leg-length discrepancy (which I never knew about) and said my whole body was out of whack. Things started to improve almost immediately after starting to wear them.

^^ orthotics? lacing? professional advice?

running attire on their holy day. No wonder Mo

Holy Day = Holiday

Been running max 10km of late. Mainly because of lack of free time. If I have more than an hour free, I ride.

Signed up for the Strava 1/2 Marathon Challenge. Then found I could get away for 2 hours yesterday.

22km, with 600 meters assent, around mountain trails, during a storm. During the steeper Climbs I was barely moving.

So tired today.

http://www.strava.com/activities/119159087

Soo. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks off resting and stretching my leg after it went belly up on me.
Got a 5 miler to do tomorrow, spent the weekend throwing up with noravirus which has given my confidence a bit of a poke. 1 month to go til Paris, still doable or am I a fool to attempt it? Current longest distance is only 16miles ish...

Also, still need a doctors sig/stamp for the insurance form. Anyone know a friendly doc who'll sort it out or do I just need to suck it up and register at a gp in london and pay them to sign it?

My marathon training has gone down the drain as I have missed two long runs in a row. Last weekend I only managed 10 miles and this weekend none. I hope that I can finish in Paris :(

Current longest distance is only 16miles ish...

How did you feel after that?

For both of you, I'd say it should be doable - although you might need to re-asses your pace.
Main advice if you are doing it would be to take the first half easy and then speed up if you feel like it.

@smallfurry, did you climb a mountain at mile 12?

@ed IANAMR but if you're feeling better now I say hit this week with a renewed vigour and get plenty of mileage in at marathon pace, throw in a couple of easy runs and then smash another 16 mile long steady run if you can, I've read workouts take 3 weeks to fully show their benefit so you can squeeze in 1 or 2 weeks of decent training still. you might find that the loss in fitness is not as bad as you think it is and you'll bolster your confidence again.

fwiw, I did my second 16 mile run yesterday and I have another on the 23rd (the day after a stag do :( ) but that's the bulk of my long runs done. instead my plan adds mileage to my recovery runs and on tempo and speed/strength runs by running a nice easy warmup and cool down for 2-3 miles each so a 10 mile tempo is actually a 14 miler but I'm not dying on my arse or hobbling around like an old man the next day. I ran 60 miles last week and finished the last bit of my 16 miler running at marathon pace (uncomfortably, but I did it).

A long long run now (over 2h30) will probably only hinder you by delaying recovery and reducing your training volume while you recover.

at the end of the day the worst that can happen if you throw yourself back into training now is you don't run the marathon which is what will probably happen if you don't train at all.

I of course am basing all this solely on stuff I've read and how I've responded to my own training cycle and am sure others will have much sounder advice/experience than me.

@ tika can you not do the long run in the next couple of days?