Running

If you're going to run a half marathon under someone else's entry, don't go and win it in 66 minutes...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-43289854

Yes, someone just sent that link round our club. Not entirely certain what he thought he was doing racing that hard.

What the fuck? He ran his "first" half marathon 8 minutes slower than the world record?

Mr Gray, who usually runs in 5km races, said: "My boss called on Thursday to ask if I wanted to take his place as he was injured, and I thought 'why not?'

So he usually does 5ks but decided to do a half-marathon with 3 days notice and won it? How is that even possible?

i think he runs a bit more as well. 17th at the Nationals the other week....

http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=47610

speaking of Po10 - is it possible to remove a perfomance? asking for a friend

That BBC article seemed to try and imply he did parkruns and then gave a half marathon a shot. Makes a better story. He also did it in his club vest, which is lunacy.

Not sure! http://www.thepowerof10.info/content/itemdisplay.aspx?itemid=24

The aggregation of minor gains, or something...

Ok so maybe further back in the past than a year? How long did your first half marathon take?

I'm just wondering if I'll ever improve with times, or have 25 or so years of various substance abuse just permanently ruined me.

I went from scraping in under 2 hours to a 1h38 still weighing 95kg (2015)

Tempo runs at goal race pace, interval track sessions long runs and slow mileage to recover on days in between and you will get better.

Edit: check out the paunch but still smiling at mile 12 https://i.imgur.com/wBY3HXN.jpg

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/19/why-runners-skimpy-kit-winter-notes-queries

Lfgss answers needed...

Not long before that I was running 2 hours plus. Doing a few 10k races in the early part of last year really helped bring it down. Wish I’d done the same this year or got involved in XC.

I mean I've spent all winter in tights and so far it's been my first winter without any niggles or knee problems so I'm sold on them now.

If I didn't have a spare 20kg then I'd probably be in something more than shorts and short sleeve t-shirt.

At this weight I just generate so much heat running.

Think of the years of substance abuse as training.
Long nights, days without food, body constantly moving and sweating.

With a bit of a rebrand you could be an enduro runner.

The biggest improvement in my running times I ever made was when I switched to a vegan diet. I went from 6:00/km to 5:00/km over a period of a couple of months without significantly changing my training. Slow compared to some in here but still a big improvement. Almost certainly a large proportion of the minute that I lost was due to weight loss but I did feel a hell of a lot fitter as well. I also smashed a bunch of PBs on my bike.

It was sort of annoying actually, because I had been running for a few years at that point, and like I said I had never seen such an improvement. Made the training seem like a waste of time - why bother actually running when changing my diet has a bigger impact (and probably getting more sleep, drinking more water - I should try those too).

You could put a counter-argument that training hard at a higher weight gives you more of a work-out, and you've taken advantage of it with the continued training compounded by weight loss. I like to think that all those spinning classes I did 12-14 years ago when I was 30+ kg heavier than I am now have contributed to my vast aerobic engine. :)

You can't outtrain a bad diet.

I certainly noticed an improvement when I turned vegan; only minor issue is that if you're doing ultras, you're a bit more dependent on aid stations, so have to find out in advance if there's anything you can eat* or carry more stuff with you.

*and then rely on them to actually provide it - there's nothing worse than sputtering on fumes to reach the next aid station to find the promised banana isn't there...

Weight has a huge impact. I watched my 5k times go down by over 5 minutes (so more than 1min/km) as my weight fell (88kg to 83kg).

It also feels much nicer not to be lugging that extra weight around too, running (and cycling) just feels easier.

If you put your distance, time and weight in here: http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Running_Calculator you can get predictions on how losing weight would affect you (based on VDOT/VO2max). Look for the "6.2 Weight Adjusted Race Times" section.

Quite an incentive knowing that just by not being a fat bastard I could gain 40 odd minutes over a marathon (plus all the other benefits).

Sadly (or gladly depending on your leanings) @dubkev couldn't give up animal products anymore than he has already.

I do agree though, albeit being nowhere near vegan myself I tend to run a lot better during periods when I'm not eating meat. I just feel fresher and lighter on my feet. Could be all a placebo but definitely makes a difference in my times.

All of my running training since 2010 has been fuelled mostly by chicken burgers

I just did my first half too - Paris semi, last Sunday. Made it in 2h17 which was much better than anything I'd done in training (about 2h30) so I was quite pleased with myself. I also agree that all the years substance abuse haven't helped much.... Thing I'm most scared of though is the full marathon I've got coming up next month, as I wrote about here: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/313991

So, I've still got a few weeks to go until April 8th, but my furthest distance so far is 15.5 miles (and I was intermittent walking the last mile or so), so I figure anywhere under 10h I will be happy.

My current dilemma is whether to keep on building the mileage up to 20m over the next two weekends, or whether to focus on interval training instead. I've had mixed advice...

Well done on the HM times everyone!

@d0cA To be honest, I don't really know what I'm doing with marathon training, but I would build up mileage a little more over the next fortnight (~10% increase, building to 19-20mi) and spend the following week on some tempo and/or VO2 efforts before a well earned taper in the final week :)

Are you in a club? They might have mara training sessions seeing as it's Spring mara season.

Classic thinking is last long long run 3 weeks out so you've got two more weekend you could use to build up mileage.

The Bupa Intermediate plan (https://www.bupa.co.uk/~/media/Images/HealthManagement/PDFs/Intermediate-marathon_FINAL.pdf?la=en&hash=F4A0380501A089C507BEB0D3678163170268D408) I roughly followed has long run Sundays of:-

15 miles, 13 miles/HM race, 20-22 miles, 12 miles, 10 miles easy, MARATHON

As Pikfo says, speed/tempo work can be done in first two of those last 3 weeks and the last week is taking it nice and easy.

Meanwhile I'm aiming for 6 x 5k runs a week until weight starts to drop and I can switch two consecutive 5k days for a 10k and a rest day.

Haven't run 10k for a LONG TIME. August! Fuck!

First of all well done on the half marathon and taking on this challenge in a year with a lot of change.

With two weeks of training left you aren't going to make the world of difference either way unless you get injured so don't try and do anything too revolutionary, keep it as an evolution of previous training so no more than 10% total increase in distance or time each week (whichever is less) and bear in mind that for almost anyone the last 6 mile of a marathon are more about mental than physical strength so make sure you work t keep your confidence high.

Without knowing what you've done so far in detail I'd say add to your long run mileage, doing the run in what you plan to wear on race day and eating and drinking what you plan, Paris has some pretty old school offerings at the aid stations as I'm sure you saw at the semi; having to stop for an upset stomach will make it harder to get round.

So 17 miles this weekend and 18.5 the weekend after.

I'd strongly recommend that you plan your walking a bit more, and start early, i.e. run 3km and then walk for a minute throughout all the rest of your training and on race day, it's a better way of managing your energy, and if you practice it and accept it now you'll get better at getting going again after walking, and most importantly your positivity wont dip in the race when you do walk as its all part of the plan and strategy rather than a failure. Sounds odd I know, but I've done a 3:53 marathon walking for a minute after every 3km, it's infuriating for the first few breaks as people run past while you feel good but you quickly begin to look forward to them!

Wise words from @Sainsburys_Ed. I'd agree with building up the mileage rather than intervals while there's still some useful training time before taper. Apart from anything else, when the marathon distance is something new, I think there's good psychological benefit from getting somewhere close to the distance in training to make it seem less daunting. And don't get too hung up on the 20 miles classic long run distance, it's just a round number. I imagine a lot of continental beginner marathon training plans go up to a similar arbitrary round number, e.g. 30k = 18.6 miles.
You will find an extra gear on race day, but pacing practice will definitely pay off.