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Tuesday -- 4 mi flat horse trail, slow due to sore toe.
Thurs -- 7.5 mi, 800' climb, easy pace, beautiful evening at sunset.
Good recovery runs from Sunday's race, tired but a good tired.

Ran 9 miles yesterday...9 miles this am...Hotter than hell...

4 miles with some friends again today. bout 11 min pace...but this time it was because this was the first run for a friend in a couple months. I actually felt like we could have gone a little harder. But by the end I was pretty wiped. The last mile was a 10:36, so we did push a little at the end. Sunday, I may try 5 at a really easy pace...

I can't wait to get back down to an 8 to 9 min mile....This is just ridiculous.

Ran 8 miles...dogged it...It was 100+ temps.....

11 miles with a gang of 20 guys this morning, starting along the LA River bike path, then up into Elysian Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysian_Park,_Los_Angeles for some single track trails. A couple new hotties joined us -- here's hoping they return another day.

A harder run than usual, ten miles, nearly all off road, at 9:50/mile pace; lots of public pathways, river banks, some open woodland; uneven terrain, pot holes, long grass, pools of standing water.

Conditions were excellent, though, temperatures this evening in the mid-sixties, dry and sunny/some cloud, a cool breeze; a huge, near full, moon rising in the south-east to guide me round.

The return leg saw a very Morrissey-esque moment as the setting sun gilded the local sewage works into something approaching beauty!

9 miles humid and 108 in phoenix 1:30 pm finished in under 1hr 30 mins. 80-90 miles for my 4 week training cycle.

4 miles...a bit faster and easier than before. New shoes helped as did running earlier in the week with a buddy who pushed me a little.

Ran 9 miles at a steady pace...thinking about changing up my diet...I think more complex carbs before the run ...Bananas...steel cut oatmeal...almonds...

ok...so Sunday's run didn't go as planned thanks to a weekend of working, and I - er -decided to go and get my hair cut instead. Decided to do a 6 mile run this morning. It was slow, easy and very enjoyable indeed. It was good just to be running, slow, nodding at passers-by, and without doing any race training or anything. Adidas Mi-Coach was left sulking in the house.

This means that its the last run before Saturday. Thats it.

As I said before, I'm unsure I'll get a PB - I don't think my training has been intense enough. Hoping to get 1 hour 45 now (ooh the pressure!)

I will send a report of Saturday. Maybe even live. So you guys here can hear every pant. There's an offer you don't get every day, the chance to experience a breathless Scotsman....

Wish me luck, people!

Ewan

suedeheadscot saidok...so I - er -decided to go and get my hair cut instead.

And you will look FAB-u-lous in your race

Saturday was my 8 mile long run for half training. I haven't run that far in a very very long time. I was averaging just under 11:30 pace, which again is slower than I used to run when I was overtraining but was good considering it was in the low 80's by the time I finished. Yesterday was my easy run. The temperature was 90 when I started and a mere 88 when I finished. The combination of that and it needing to be an easy run means that I had a very slow 12:27 pace, but at least on this slow run I didn't almost fall asleep lol.

I'm getting my heart rate zones tested at the gym doing a VO2max test. At the training paces suggested based on the 220 formula I just don't feel like I'm pushing myself at all. Yesterday's target run should have been in the low 140 bpm. I was instead going in the high 140/low 150 range and I still was barely breathing hard. The test should establish my true zones.

MarathonManiac said

suedeheadscot saidok...so I - er -decided to go and get my hair cut instead.

And you will look FAB-u-lous in your race

Well, I can't cross the finish line looking shabby, now, can I???? Wait until you see what else I'm wearing.

Woke up late and ended up running mid-morning...the temp... about 95..Ran my 9 miles..came home and died a lil...

suedeheadscot- Good luck on your race Saturday. I think you'll run even faster with your new haircut.

Happy Fourth everybody!

Recent runs-

Fri. 6/29- 6.5 miles
Sat. 6/30- 10.25 miles
Mon. 7/2 - 12 miles
Tue. 7/3 - 5.25 miles
Wed 7/4 - 11.1 miles

Thirteen miles in one hour fourty seven minutes; conditions difficult: temperatures in the high seventies, high(and rising) humidity, still, full sun; mostly on-road this evening.

I`m all done in for today!

suedeheadscot, can`t wait to see your attire for the big day!

Ran 9 miles...The heat has been a killer...After my run, I find some shade and stretch dem leg muscles..home soon after....

4 miles Wednesday morning...and 4 last night. Going to try for 5 on Sunday. Really slow...just to see if I can.

Nice, easy 5.5 miles early this morning: 42:00. Humid, but temps still in the low 80s (supposed to be over 100 AGAIN) today. Did an aquathlon on the 4th (450m swim/5k run/450m swim) and won AG.

Birmingham Black Country Half Marathon Half - from Wolverhampton to Birmingham alongside the canal. Took the train from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, which trundled alongside the actual route taken. And trundled. And trundled. Eventually the train pulled into Wolverhampton, with me wondering if I'd signed up for an actual full-length marathon by mistake.

The actual run itself was fantastic and well recommended. Running alongside the canal felt great, and it wasn't all flat - had 30 mini-bridges at locks to climb. Unfortunately the weather had been bad so half of the course was a mudfest. Everyone gave up running around the puddles by the 8th mile and just splashed through them. I once almost ended up sliding in the canal, and realised i had to slow down. I hadn't been this muddy since Glastonbury in '95!

Another part of the run was a 360 metre run through a canal tunnel, in pitch darkness for a good section. Thankfully there was railing between the water and the canalside. I got held up running behind a wee slow man, and there was no overtaking room at all. So the man ended up with a traffic jam behind him, for 360 metres, in the dark. I hadn't been in a dark enclosure with a group of men sounding breathless since....er....never mind....

After my Coventry half marathon disaster I decided I was going to run this course at a steady pace and it was only at mile 10, I realised this was where i was beginning to run out of steam and the battle really began. I had carbed/proteined/water up but this was where it began to get difficult. By mile 11, this was where we all had to shout out encouragement to each other as we really began to wilt. Mile 12 was one of the hardest ones I've ever done, that was when I was really running on empty.

Ended up with a respectable time : 1 hour 43. Not my PB , which is 1 hour 35, I'm wondering what I could have done to get a faster : should I have followed a race training programme, did I carb up and drink enough water the week before? Could I have pushed myself harder? Normally when I run half marathons I end up "boking" a lot towards the end, I only "boked" a little bit towards the end. I had to absolutely kill myself to get my PB: do they come easier with right kind of training? I also only did about 3 training runs of 13 miles, should I have done more so that I didn't run out of steam at the 10th mile? The majority of my runs were 10 miles long...

Overall, I'm happy with the time and now wanting to do another half!! I do think this is a great run, people are very friendly on it too so anyone visiting the UK should check this out. Hugged a couple of guys I was running with at the end too. (Just a big softie at heart, me!)

If anyone can give me some running tips etc, please message me! Cheers guys!

Thanks for the blow by blow -- it made me eager to get into your race. As for technique, I think you hit the nail on the head:

suedeheadscot said...PB: do they come easier with right kind of training? I also only did about 3 training runs of 13 miles, should I have done more so that I didn't run out of steam at the 10th mile? The majority of my runs were 10 miles long...

The more long runs, the better your endurance will be. The more speed work, the better your speed. 'Fraid so -- to get better requires training [unless you're still in your 20s and naturally good at running].

Keep those stories coming, Ewan -- I luv 'em.

A gang of 8 guys + 3 dogs ascended Mt Wilson Trail http://www.summitpost.org/mt-wilson-trail/459826 to Orchard camp [about 1/3 up the mountain, 3.2 mi], then returned by Jones Peak on a crazy-ass rabbit trail to Bailey Canyon Park trail, 5.7 mi]. It's the sort of course that ultrarunnerjeff prob does before breakfast every morning.

This was a tough one, averaging 18"/mi overall because the leaders stopped often to wait for the slow guy [that would be me]. Got up to 80* in the sun but deep in the oak woods it was cool from the stream.

It doesn't matter how fast you go, only that you keep going.

suedeheadscot, you need more runs in the 10-13 mile range to fully train for a that distance. It should mimic the actual event. But well done, and congratulations on the time!

A ruck-march for a change this afternoon/evening: about twenty miles with a 28lbs rucksack in lovely warm, sunlit, dry conditions. I did a steady pace, time was around four and a half hours.

My course took me up into the hills (Wolds) for the first time; main roads, side ones, footpaths, riverbanks, etc.

Thanks to Lincsbear and to MM for the advice and help. Sorry this is very cheeky of me to post this question in this forum thread - forgive me as I'm running to work ! - but can I ask: when is it advisable I can start training again if I did a half marathon last Saturday? Thought about starting again next Monday night due to commitments.

suedeheadscot, I`d be guided by how you felt the day after the run and this week generally. Listening to your body is the best policy as everyone is unique in their response to exercise and fatigue.

Next Monday doesn`t seem unreasonable, but I`d go gently to start with to give yourself some time to recover yet keep the active habit.You might like to try something different to challenge your body(and mind) and maintain interest in keeping fit.

Rest is as important as exercise in getting/staying fit, and as someone who started late, I really appreciate it!